Fellblood's Redemption
by Aelpho
Summary: By his hands not as the Tactician of the Shepherds but as the Vessel of Grima, both he and the Fell Dragon were supposed to fade into oblivion, but it would seem that certain forces had a different fate in mind. Bearing witness to a disturbing vision, and finding himself in a land of times passed amidst war, he may just break the cycle, then and forever more.
1. Prologue

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem nor any of the characters in the franchise._** ** _I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of such content. No copyright infringement is intended._**

* * *

 **Prologue**

Only silence remained as the last of the Fell Dragon's Risen was cut down by Chrom's blade. Most of the other Shepherds laid exhausted or unconscious behind them while both he and his Tactician were worn down due to the hordes of Risen they had faced and the barrage of spells fired from the Dragon's Vessel "herself". The figure that could barely stand stared at the group with fury, an expression unfitting of the kind exterior that that she once held.

" **Y-YoU...hOw? tHis cAn't bE HaPPening! i WAs suPPOSED TO BE REBORN! I AM A GOD!"** shrieked the figure as "she" channeled the little energy "she" had left, an image of the Fell Dragon's head materializing above "her", radiating desperation and anger as it prepared one final attack.

"I won't let you hurt my friends any further!" responded Robin as he readied his tome and channeled "Ignis", the very power the Fell Dragon was supposed to hold.

With an angered roar towards the figure that had used its own power against it, the Dragon shot it's dark breath at the Tactician just as he unleashed a strengthened Thoron. While The Fell Dragon's breath would have normally been able to overwhelm such an attack, the wounds that the Vessel got before from taking various attacks, among them a breath attack from a Divine Dragon proved significant, as the thunder spell sliced through the Breath attack and pierced through the the Dragon, causing the head to roar in pain and vanish.

" **NNGH...AUUUUGH...!"** the Vessel cried as "she" fell down, barely able to support "herself" with an arm. Before "she" could get up though, Chrom was already in front of "her" by no more than a few feet, with the Falchion pointed at "her" throat.

"Its over Grima. You'll finally pay for the pain you've caused us and that Vessel you hold." said the Exalt calmly, though his eyes shone with conviction.

Robin could only watch with sadness, as he looked at the unfolding scene. The "Vessel" that the Fell Dragon currently held was him, or rather an alternative version of him, whose fate ultimately ended in tragedy. That Robin had not been as lucky as he was, having succumbed to the Fell Dragon's will much earlier on due to the deaths of her version of the Shepherds and more specifically, her lover at the hands of the Conqueror. When he had heard this from Lucina, he felt nothing but pity towards the the figure that could have been him and he could only hope that this final attack may finally put her to rest.

" **Over?...nO iTS NOT OVER!"** "She" screamed, surprising Chrom as he jumped back and watched as the Vessel desperately tried to force "herself" up once more, blood dripping from the wounds that "she" had suffered.

" **It wasn't supposed to be like this..."** "She" muttered before her seemingly dazed eyes from before shot open as "she" pointed at the Tactician.

" **YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MY VESSEL, SOMEONE WHO KNEW THIS ACCURSED FEELING, BUT WHAT HAPPENED INSTEAD? YOU FOUND ACCEPTANCE WITHIN YOUR LITTLE GROUP OF HUMANS. YOU EVEN GOT TOGETHER WITH THAT ACCURSED DIVINE DRAGON, THE VERY ANTITHESIS OF MY, NO OUR EXISTENCE! YOU BROUGHT ABOUT A MIRACLE! Yet WHY?! WHY? wHY? wHY? whY? Why? why? why...?"**

As "she" muttered these words, "her" strength finally gave way before "she" collapsed onto the floor. Despite this, "she" still stared at Robin, the intensity of "her" gaze did lessen at all. Her voice however calmed, almost as if "it" became a soft whisper instead of the monstrous shriek "it" had before.

" **Why...must I be born with this...pain...? It...hurts...it hurts so..much... Why...was I born...? Why...?"** whispered the "Vessel" as Chrom sighed and prepared to land the finishing blow.

" **Exalt...you..."** whispered the vessel as "she" looked defiantly at "her" would be executioner, "her" expression defiant. " **know...know that I will...return... And...when I do...I will tear...your decedents asunder...this pain...they will feel it...in full."**

As Robin heard these words, he remembered what Naga had told him before. The Fell Dragon was all but immortal, but there was one and only one way to permanently kill it, and that was with its own power. As he stared at himself, stared at the mark that laid on his hand, and finally at the pitiful existence before him, he sighed.

Just as the Vessel had said, the fact that he had made it this far was nothing short of a miracle. There were casualties of course, many among them, people he desperately wished to save but couldn't for one reason or another. Despite this, after they found out the true identity of the girl that had called herself Lucina and what befell their world, after they found out that the "Hierophant" of Plegia that presented "herself" as his sister's true identity, after they learnt that from the children of the future just how many did not make it, what could this situation be but a miracle?

As he tightened his fists, he could feel the blood coursing through his veins, the blood of the Fell Dragon yet despite this, he had made it this far. If Chrom ended the Fell Dragon with Falchion, it would only awaken again in 1,000 years, threatening a new generation and condemning another in his place. This scenario in itself was a miracle because in the Tactician's hands laid the ability to finally put this cycle to rest, at a cost. If he did not make the choice now, when would the next chance come, if ever? If he made the choice, he could ensure the safety and happiness of generations to come, he could ensure THEIR happiness and compared to that, how could his own happiness ever compare?

 _Tiki...Morgan...Chrom...I'm sorry._

With this final thought finished, he fired a weakened version of Thunder at Chrom which knocked him away from Grima. As the Exalt laid on the floor paralyzed, he could only stare at what his tactician as he began channelling "Ignis" once again.

"Robin...gods...what are you doing?" he muttered. As he said such words, Naga's Voice, the manakete that Robin had sworn the rest of his life with, got up as well as she struggled against her wounds.

"Robin...please...don't do this..." she said as well. This seemed to hold a larger impact on Robin, as tears began flowing from his eyes.

Tiki had been someone that Robin found solace in. Despite her being someone that was his bloodline's antithesis, she comforted him and saw him as any other despite his fate. While his mark pulsed with pain, he did not care, as Tiki was one of the biggest reasons why he was standing where he was now and not like the Vessel before him, someone that served as a reminder that he was not just the Fell Dragon's Vessel, but a person. Seeing her pleas, his resolution was shaken, but he could not let that happen. It was for those like her after all, that he was about to do what he was going to do. Even if it took an eternity for her to forgive him, it did not matter, he would wait.

"Sorry...But I'll finally put this pain, this bloodline to rest. For the first and last time, I'll act not as Robin of the Shepherds, but as the Vessel of the Fell Dragon." he said, stunning everyone present.

 **"No...no...no...no no no no no you wouldn't dare...!"** muttered Grima as an expression of true fear slowly crept onto the Vessel's expression.

"But as Robin of the Shepherds, if there's one thing I'll say, I'm glad I can finally give my life to protect those that I care for..." he muttered before letting loose one final attack.

With a Thoron enhanced by "Ignis", the attack shot through the Vessel, shot through Grima. Surprisingly, there was no screams or shouts of pain, but a simple whimper before the Vessel and Grima fell over.

" **I...it...hurts...it...it...I...its..."** was all that was whispered by Grima before the Vessel began vanishing, trails of darkness whose components were long lost to the present flowing into the distance as it happened.

Before the rest of its body faded away, the expression worn by the Vessel was no longer a scowl, nor was it one of fear and anguish as it showed before. While the others didn't see nor hear it nor could it be more than a brief moment, Robin could have sworn he saw the Vessel's expression changed into that of a smile before she, it whispered one final time;

" **...** **thank...** you..."

With that, Robin fell to his knees as the same thing began happening to him, his existence fading away just as the Fell Dragon's had. It started down at his legs and cloak as it slowly progressed up, his expression changing from a pained one to that of acceptance. As he began to fade, the effect of the Fell Dragon's presence along with the effects of Robin's spell from earlier weakened, and both Tiki and Chrom ran to Robin and held him, as if they were trying to stop him from slipping away.

Robin's vision along with the rest of his senses blurred as he began to see the other members of the Shepherds begin to recover. He felt Tiki's tears drip onto his face along with the tight hold that his friend Chrom held him with, but even those feelings began to slip away. Off at a distance, he could see Morgan slowly forcing herself up, only to look in confusion and fear as she looked at what was happening to him. Before she could come though, his vision became too blurred and he felt everything fading away. With the last of his strength, he muttered the following;

"Thank you...for everything...Chrom...Tiki...everyone...may we meet...again...in a...better...life..."

At the final moment, the Fell Dragon's body vanished, and the Shepherds once again found themselves back on the rugged terrain of Origin Peak, their victory assured to them, and the generations to come. Despite this however, there was only feelings of sadness for now as the Shepherds mourned their lost Tactician, whom had sacrificed everything to grant them salvation.

* * *

As Robin hazily began to open his eyes, he found himself in the middle of an endless sea and to his surprise, he remained afloat despite such. Looking around him, the skies were clear and not even a breeze of wind could be felt. As the realities of such absurdities dug themselves into his consciousness, he saw a woman looking into the distance. She was a beautiful one, with a seemingly simple cyan dress and smooth orange hair. As he looked at her, the girl turned to face him and smiled a bit.

"It seems you're awake. When I found you, it was quite surprising. I had thought I separated myself from the general out realms so I didn't expect to see you here." she said.

"Where...am I...?" asked Robin weakly. Even now, he could feel his existence slipping away. As he took notice of this, it seemed that whatever this place was, he probably didn't belong here.

"You would be correct. Normally, you wouldn't even be able to remain as you are here, but it seems your will holds strong, though even that has limits." she replied, much to Robin's surprise.

Hearing what had happen, Robin would have normally be startled and then intrigued by the fact that this woman seemingly read his mind, but in his current state, all he could do was let out a light laugh. As Robin continued to look at the woman, he could see that there was a certain sense of wisdom...timelessness within her eyes. As he thought such, he was reminded of Tiki again.

"Tell me, do you want to stay here? If you do, I can promise you that your passing will be peaceful and painless. No one would blame you, and you could finally rest."

Such words were alluring to Robin as the tiredness he felt before, tugged on him. Despite this, the images of his friends, the Shepherds tugged at him. More so than this though, was the image of the woman he had sworn to be with for eternity, the one that he promised he would wait an eternity for if needed. He thought of what could have been if things were different, nothing but a glimpse of fantasy to him but he imagined him and her, along with their child Morgan playing together, in a remote village somewhere. He imagined them living their lives free from the burdens that they were dealt. As he imagined this, he smiled a bit. Even if it was a fantasy, he was happy that he could be permitted hold such a beautiful thought before the end.

"Do you want to see her?" she suddenly asked, which made Robin turn his attention to her.

"Do you want a chance to grab such a future?"

"Do you want a chance to fix these burdens? If not for yourself, then for those which may become who you are now?"

As he heard these words, Robin couldn't accept these words, this hope that was being presented to him as reality. Despite such though, he felt like he still had to take the chance. He had promised to wait after all, and as such, even if this woman was being cruel, even if such words were simply comforting lies, he would still take the chance.

"Yes...!" he muttered with as much energy as he could muster, and the girl let out a bright simile in response. As this happened, he suddenly no longer found his existence fading away, instead he began to slowly sink into calm sea, much to his surprise. Even though this would have been a scary situation for most, he could find no fear, but strangely, only happiness and more importantly, hope, he could only feel what she had promised him.

"Who...are you?" he managed to ask, as he sank further, his consciousness beginning to leave him. Before it did though, the woman answered.

"I had many names, but you can call me Ashunera. The path that lies ahead of you is riddled with conflict and perhaps loss, but I wish you luck in your endeavor."

As he heard these words, his consciousness finally faded as he drifted down to what laid ahead.

* * *

 _For a while, all Robin could see was darkness, all he could think about was darkness but all of that was blown aside as bright purple flames ignited his consciousness as he looked on ahead of him. He seemed to be in a cavern of sorts though what lay ahead of him held much greater importance. As the bright purple flames danced around him, flames that he recognized as those with the attribute of the Fell Dragon, his suspicions were all but confirmed when numerous dark spikes shot out from underground around him._

 _In front of the Tactician much to his horror, was numerous Risen as they began to crawl their way out of the rugged dirt of the cavern. At the center however, was the true concentration of his fears. An all too familiar dragon laid there, with four wings of feathers darker than the night sky, scales that glittered purple with the flames that surrounded it, horns with tips that would give even the sharpest of spears a run for their money, and finally the eyes. Six eyes that glowed with a purple malice stared at him all but confirmed who the dragon was._

 _"Grima?! No, how? I ended things with that attack, this shouldn't be possible." Robin yelled, but then he realized it._

 _The dragon before him had Grima's features, but it seemed...weaker. The most significant difference was the size. Though this dragon was big, no matter how big a cavern this was, it would not fit the monstrosity that was the Fell Dragon. That along with the overall less powerful aura the dragon gave off, indicated to Robin that it wasn't Grima yet it was at the same time. As he thought about it though, he suddenly noticed a bunch of humans that seemed to be fighting the dragon._

 _The two leaders seemed to be a male with green armor that seemed to symbolize leadership itself and a sword that seemed to radiate power while the girl was dressed in an outfit befitting of a noble yet held a certain aura to it, drawing out the power of flames through the tome she was using. The rest of their army got ready as they prepared to fight the Grima like dragon and its Risen. Before they did though, the dragon almost seemed to stare intently at the Tactician despite the two leaders and army not realizing he was there._

 _"Come..." muttered the dragon, whose words surprised Robin. Did the dragon know he was there?_

 _"Come...Kill...Pain...!" was all he heard, before the flames around him erupted intensely, and soon after, his vision was gone again and back was the darkness from before followed by a loud_ ***THUD***.

"Gah! Gods what was that?!" yelled the Tactician, crying out in pain. Seeing that he laid face up on the ground with a darkened sky above him, he slowly began to force himself up.

 _Guess that was a dream huh..._ he thought, before taking a look at his surroundings.

What lay before him was a cemetery, riddled with numerous gravestones big and small, new and broken. With thunder rumbling in the skies and not a person in sight, Robin wondered what kind of graveyard he was dumped in. As he thought such though, a few growls could be heard which made him look around.

Numerous rotten creatures faced him, their eyes glowing with an otherworldly energy as they stared at the newcomer with expressions that radiated malice. There were a variety of creatures, some humanoid, others having similar forms to dogs, but all one-hundred percent "dead".

"Ha...I guess that explains why the yard was empty eh?"

In such a situation, people would have a variety of different emotions. Most people would probably pee their pants in fear, others would crouch down and accept their inevitable fate, but few could click their tongue in annoyance, almost as if it was just another day of minor inconveniences when faced with such a threat.

"Looks like no matter where I end up...there will always be conflict." he sighed as he readied his tome, the energy in it crackling with anticipation at his fingertips.

In such a situation, the tactician known as Robin prepared himself once more for a fight just as he had not long ago.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note**_

 ** _And that's it for this chapter. Did you enjoy it? Did you feel things could be improved upon? If you have any suggestions, improvements, or questions that could be made, I would love to hear them. For now though, until next time._**


	2. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem nor any of the characters in the franchise._** ** _I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of such content. No copyright infringement is intended._**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Beginnings of a Pilgrimage**

The day was a cloudy one, and the sounds of the Church Bells clanging filled the air. Today was the day that the Lima IV, the King of Zofia died. Despite the death of her father, Celica gathered her belongings without a care in preparation for the journey that lay ahead. As she did, she began to think about the past that led to her current circumstances. Sir Mycen, her "grandpapa", had dropped her off here after that fateful day, and unfortunately, things had a rocky start, with her having left the Village of Ram and being placed here with those she barely knew.

Despite this however, she managed to find solace in this monastery, having met a few friends that she stayed close with to this very day and coming to terms with the lifestyle that the Church demanded. In a way, she found a certain feeling of peace here, yet she always knew, such an experience would not last. Destiny it seems, always did have a way to call those that it needed, and she was certain it had called her a few nights ago.

 _Alm..._

While the thoughts of her childhood friend never left her, not ever since he made that fateful promise that they would reunite, her thoughts of him had never been clearer after that dream she had around a week ago. She saw Alm, a now hardened warrior fighting against none other than the King of Rigel himself.

 _Under a shadowed sky, snow drifted downward as Celicia slowly became aware of the scene before her. She was in the openings of a Fortress. There were many soldiers who held nothing but stone cold expressions surrounding her, creating an arena-like area, but she could only watch in horror as she saw what was unfolding before her._

 _On one side was a man whom she instantly recognized as Alm however, the once peaceful and caring expression that she remembered fondly was gone, and all that remained was a glare of hatred and disgust for the opponent he was facing. That very opponent was the King of Rigel, whom wore a grand piece of gold and crimson armor, with a lance ready at one hand, and shield ready at the other._

 _"RUDOLF! DIE!" yelled Alm, as he charged forward recklessly, while the King simply looked on, readying himself._

 _With that, the clash of weapons began, as Alm tried to strike first by jumping, only to be met with the shield that the King held. Parrying the green armored warrior's attack, the King retaliated, thrusting his spear forward, which Alm managed to dodge._

 _"ALM!" she cried, desperate to get his attention, only to be ignored as the warrior continued his assault._

 _"YOU TOOK EVERYTHING!" he continued, his strikes being blocked once again and again._

 _"EVERYTHING THAT I EVER LOVED!"_

 _"YOU TOOK ZOPHIA!"_

 _"YOU TOOK MY FRIENDS"_

 _"AND NOW...CELICIA TOO!"_

 _As Alm tried striking more, this time from one angle or the other, his frustrations only increased as his blows were parried by either lance or shield. Soon enough, the two managed to hold each other off by weapon, but it did not take long before the King overwhelmed the warrior, knocking him aside with his shield._

 _Celica continued to watch what initially seemed to be a standstill, with Alm not able to get any effective hits in, while the King also being forced into the defensive, the tides of battle however, soon turned with that attack. Besides a few scratches on his armor and shield, the King seemed fine, but Alm struggled as he used his sword to force himself up. She wasn't the only one to notice either, as the King soon threw away his shield, preparing for one last strike to end his opponent once and for all. With lance in hand, he prepared to plunge the spear into the boy's body, as his entire body shone with a darkened aura._

 _"ALM!" she screamed, right as the spear was brought down, waking her up from her nightmare._

If there was ever a dream that felt as real as any waking moment, Celica would be willing to place everything she had on what she saw...what she felt. Ever since then, she thought about Alm more than ever as well as what was happening in Zofia and thus, her conscious began gnawing at her to go out into the world. Her home kingdom was currently plagued with a drought and famine as well as the ever increasing threat of the "Terrors", corpses of the deceased attacking the living in all shapes and sizes. Along with this, what looked to be an inevitable conquest by it's neighboring kingdom, Ridgel, only worsened the situation.

With all of these pangs...these truths gnawing at her very core, she soon realized that she had to venture out, she had to go see what had happened to Mila, the Patron deity of Zofia, as these problems must have had something to do with her. With that, she was currently where she was now, praying in front of a statue of the Earth Mother. As she did, she heard the steps of an all too familiar man. Rising up, she saw the priest whom had taken care of her since childhood, a man of his word so much so that her "grandpapa" had entrusted her not as a commoner, but as a princess in hiding to him. His very appearance felt solemn, and he was someone that Celica had grown to trust greatly, having taught her many of the skills she knew today.

"Little one, are you sure you want to leave? Out there lie unspeakable horrors, and though you may be a priestess with talent I haven't seen in decades, I worry for your safety." Nomah advised, which made Celica smile in return.

"You've always helped me out when I needed it, whether it came to magic or my studies and I appreciate your advice, truly I do." she said. "But I can almost feel it calling to me. There are people dying out there, and crimes and poverty among others are only increasing by the day right? For most, this would have been a great dissuasion against the journey that I am about to make but it is thanks to you and my friends that I may have some resemblance of readiness and for that, I am eternally grateful to you. As such, the only path I can take now is the path that lies beyond this place."

"Surely you can stay until the bell's last peal? It is the death of the king, as well as your father after all. And what is there to do out there in the land out there that only gets increasingly dangerous? Would it not be safer here for you to achieve your goals?" he responded.

"Nomah, you know I don't see that man as anything even remotely close to what a father would be. As for the other matter...I must leave now...it's because of the fact that it's getting increasingly dangerous out there that I must go." she continued. "There is something that lies out there that I can only find if I am willing to go. Things have stayed as peaceful and serene around me as long as it could, and when things begin to change, the only way to address this is to move on ahead and confront it. I'm sorry Nomah, but this is something I have to do."

"So no matter what happens, it the cogs of destiny will never stop...Celica, I never took a wife or sired children, I've dedicated my existence to Mila's teachings. I had expected this to be a path of solitude yet it is due to this that I was able to watch you and your friends. You've all grown into youths of the noblest hearts that I would treat no less than any loving parent would their sons and daughters and that has all but brought me endless joy in this path that I've chosen. If you and your friends must go however, I can only pray to Mila that you'll each live out your lives to the greatest of your desires, unbound and free."

"I see...thank you Nomah. No matter what happens, know that I'll always remember you." said Celica as she thanked the priest and prepared to leave.

"Before you do, let me give you this. This item is known as Mila's Turnwheel, I am certain that it will aid you well in your journey. May you walk always in the light of Mila's blessing, little one." replied Nomah as he handed Celica the item.

"I'm not sure how it will help but regardless, I thank you for your gift. May we meet again in the future Nomah, thank you." she said before she gave the room of worship she had grown so accustomed to one last look as she headed towards the entrance.

"Celica, you aren't going to wait for us?" called a voice as she turned around.

Catching up to Celica was Mae and the other two friends that she had made here. All three of them were relatively young and around Celica's age. Mae was the one that called her, having Pink hair and matching clothing with an upbeat personality to boot. The boy that was following behind was a stark contrast, with darker skin and clothing, as well as messy white hair. Finally, the last girl was of a similar color to Mae, only sporting much plainer clothing and a more nonchalant expression.

"Eh? I thought you guys weren't coming? I already told you guys that it would be dangerous, and I don't want any of you to get hurt." replied Celicia, only to be met with sharp opposition.

"Right back at you Celica, we don't want you to get hurt either, which is why we're coming! What kind of friends would be if we just sat around while our friend went out to fix the problem by herself? Besides, if we're here to help you out, then that makes everything better!" smiled Mae. Boey sighed at her response, but agreed as well.

"I don't like to admit it, but she's got a point milady. Besides, I'm not gonna let the two of you off on your own." added the boy, which made Mae laugh.

"Hah, you say that as if you could protect us better then we already can. Knowing you, you'll probably just end up being added weight!"

"Am not, I'm also a pretty good Mage too! I'm sure I can do a thing or two to help!"

"A-Alright you two, calm down. We'll all go together alright? Celica, as you know, we can all help, so t-take us with you alright? It will put us at ease, and will make your journey all the more easier." added Genny.

"If you put it that way, I guess I don't have much of a choice. At least I'll have good company." said Celica as she resigned to her friend's wishes.

"Great! You'll be glad for this Celica! We already have our stuff ready so let's go!" exclaimed Mae excitedly, showing the travel bags behind her.

"You know, things aren't that exciting outside right Mae? There's famine and drought, war is getting closer and closer to our shores, and Terrors remain an ever increasing threat. It will be anything but something that would warrant your cheerfulness..." corrected Boey, only to smacked lightly in the back by Mae.

"Oh don't worry, with our strength, it won't be as bad as you think! Unless you're scared?" she taunted much to Boey's distaste as Mae and the others let out a light laugh.

"N-No! No, not at all! Let's go milady! You definitely won't regret this, you'll see!"

"Yes Boey, I think I won't." replied Celica.

As they prepared to leave, the four friends took a sip from the Sacred Springs of the monastery in preparation for the journey, and soon departed. Though various dangers and sights few would wish to see laid ahead, the four continued on, and though they all had individual desires that differed from one another, there laid a singular goal uniting them, and that is to find the source of the problems that plagued their home, and fix it.

* * *

Robin watched as the many abominations began to rise out of the grave, crawling and walking towards him in different shapes and sizes one after the other. Despite this, there was no fear to be found in him, only a strange form of curiosity as the things came. He had no doubt that what he saw around him were Risen, denizens of the dead that were given some twisted semblance of life through either the most sinister of spells or worse, via the Fell Dragon's will. Despite this knowledge however, the traits of these Risen raised a few concerns.

For one, these Risen were somewhat similar, but also differed greatly from the ones he had grown accustomed to, with some of them being humanoid in shape while others seemed to be of various animals. The Risen that he had faced often in the past were mostly reanimated warriors, average ones wielding weapons with inhuman strength, while stronger variants were able to match a formidable swordsman such as Chrom in skill and sometimes, even surpass him. The few inhuman Risen he had faced were monsters of their own, retaining their ferocity and strength, while often carrying deadly venom in their deceased maws and claws.

These Risen however, were a far cry from those that had plagued Ylisse. The humanoid ones seemed twisted and malformed, late in the decaying phase, looking as if they could fall apart with a few simple cuts. The animals he saw were similar too, which gave him a sense of relief. He could also feel some form of energy powering them, but it felt much weaker and less sinister than the noxious aura that the powers of Grima held. It seemed that while these things were Risen, they were definitely not the same type as those that he had encountered in Ylisse, but rather a byproduct of whatever was going on in this world.

 _So it looks like Grima isn't here, or at least not a threat..._

Taking off a glove and looking at the dorsal of his hand, he saw that the accursed mark that had plagued him for so long was no longer there, much to his surprise. Despite this however, he could still feel the Fell Dragon's power inside of him, granting him a natural affinity towards all forms of magic except for light, along with the skill that had allowed him to go as far as he did, "Ignis". The only one who could have had the power to sever his connections to the Fell Dragon yet allowed him to live in this state could be none other than that woman...that goddess that he had met before ending up here.

 _Still though, I would've never thought of such an outcome, the scenario in itself was absurd... Her name...Ashunera, it seemed that she had apparently given him another chance at life and more._

It was then that the Tactician had remembered that woman's words in full, she had promised him another chance, another chance to see HER, to grab that future he felt for that split moment. If this was true, then that would mean that SHE was here. Whether close by or far away, SHE was here and SHE was alive and he would get the chance to see her again. As Robin realized this, a smirk of sorts crept it's way onto his face as the energy at his fingertips crackled with greater power, as if resonating with his emotions.

"If that's the case...then I don't have time to deal with the likes of you!"

With that, the first of the Risen attacked, lunging at the Tactician, only for it and the numerous others around it to be annihilated by the lightning strikes that followed after Robin casted Arcthunder. The power behind the strikes were great, with their targets now nothing but ashes and destroying a few of the tombstones around him as well. The rest of the Risen seemed momentarily stunned, though they continued their advance soon after.

 _This feeling...that spell was a lot more destructive than I remember it..._

Two other Risen attacked soon after, attempting to overwhelm their target with speed this time, but it was futile as Robin quickly maintained his distance and switched tomes, now casting Elthunder, a quicker variant of his earlier tome, which eliminated the attackers with similar ease. Unfortunately, this only seemed to anger the Risen, as they now decided to attack together, dozens of them charging at the Tactician.

 _There's no doubt about it, my magic's gotten stronger overall. Casting it also seems so much more...natural. Is this because of that goddess too?_

Before he had more time to ponder, a Risen tried to grab at his back with it's claws, only to be met with a swift strike of electricity. Whatever was different about his magic, it had helped him significantly, allowing him to react with spells a lot quicker than he could before, and amplified the output of his attacks too. With newfound strength at hand, he concentrated further, casted Arcthunder to greater speeds which eradicated nearly all the Risen that were around him. Much to Robin's dismay however, more began to quickly fill their ranks as they emerged from the surroundings and rose from underneath the ground.

 _So they still have the numbers advantage huh... Let's change things up then...!_

Outside of the borderline legendary spells such as Rexbolt, Thunder Magic generally held the greatest power among the three main elemental types of Anima magic, but was much more single target focused compared to the others. Even in the hands of an experienced user, if one wanted to cause more damage to an area of enemies, fire was typically the better elemental type. As such, Robin quickly switched to the most powerful tome of such element that he had on hand, Bolganone.

"My apologies..." he muttered, for what that Tome was about to do would only leave a sense of distaste for the Tactician, especially if it's power was enhanced, but for the sake of ending the scourge here, it had to be done.

As he casted the Fire spell, a rumbling spread from underneath his legs to the surrounding areas around him. Followed by that, was a scene that would get the attention of all those in the area, within the cemetery or not.

The ground area near the graves and underneath the Risen began to boil before a fissure ripped open, erupting into an explosion in the area with a horribly loud ***BANG*** , effectively destroying everything around it, Risen and all. As the explosions happened, the tombstones and ground were blown apart, and where the explosions had occurred, not even bones remained. Fumes began rising from the area as the flames quickly died down once their targets had been blown away, with only holes of magma remaining at the targets.

"That did the job but-"

Before the Tactician could finish, he fell on one knee as his breathing became heavier. Looking on ahead, the area near him was all but ruined but the lava would at the very least prevent more Risen from emerging in the area around him, hopefully. He began to worry however, as the Risen here seemed to be much more of a natural phenomenon then back at his home world, and even if he as an individual could defend himself, that did not mean well for the others of this land.

Taking notice at his exhaustion, Robin realized that he had most definitely overexerted himself without thinking. As he looked at the Tome he was using, he almost felt like facepalming for not noticing it earlier.

 _So channeling of power for a spell here doesn't draw energy from the Tome, but from your own reserves instead...!_

As this became more clear, he cursed at himself for making such a foolhardy mistake. This simple fact explained why his spells had a greater output of power than usual, why he reacted as naturally as he did when casting said spells, and most importantly, explained why his Tomes had did not deteriorate at all, despite the power he thought he was supposedly drawing from them. If he had thought clearer, he would have realized it a lot sooner but he got caught up in the action and as a result, failed to notice this change until the effects finally took a toll on him.

 _It seems I need to learn a more direct method of control over my output; I'll keep that in mind...if I manage to last the rest of today..._

As he thought about the system of magic here, his attention shifted to his surroundings which were now permanently scarred, with the black smoke around him causing him to cough. In addition to this, he also saw that Risen that were coming out from the distance towards him, along with many hands now emerging out of the grounds outside of his spell's range, as if they were awakened by what he had unleashed earlier. The Tactician watched slowly before he let out a small chuckle, today was **NOT** his lucky day.

 _I definitely don't have the strength left to use Bolganone anymore, and I doubt Arcthunder or Arcwind would do me any good either. Looks like I'll have to do things the hard way..._

Putting away his tome, he took out the single blade that he had with him, a Levin Sword that he held close in case a close quarter's fight ever happened. While it definitely wasn't as powerful as some of the tomes he had, it made up for it in it's versatility, allowing the Tactician to fight up close to some extent, while still allowing him to call down lightning. With the realization that spells here consumed his stamina, he would not risk using the sword's ranged effect for now, but instead rely on it's intended form, a sword.

 _I guess I'll begin dragging myself away from here and once I get near an opening, I'll muster whatever energy I have left and sprint. If a Risen manages to get close, I could parry it's attack and at the very least, stab it back...hopefully._

Robin hated to admit it, but compared to many of the Shepherds he knew, his skill with the sword was barely passable at best. With only the experience gained from a multitude of spars with Chrom and Lon'qu all of which ended with him being beaten one way or the other, his experiences was anything but great. Despite this, now would be the moment that he would finally thank them for their "lessons", as they at least gave him some chance versus none at all.

As Robin looked on ahead, he could see that while the Risen were approaching, they seemed more interested in the scene, the raw energy that was around him and not him as an individual. Due to this, they were still relatively separated, which meant that with his sword in hand, he go forward with his plan. It was an incredibly risky one however, especially in his current state, but what other choice did he have?

Gripping his sword tightly, the Tactician began his advance slowly, due to his fatigue as well as to not arouse any more attention from the Risen than he already had. He was fearful for his life, fearful that things might just end here, but he suppressed these feelings as best he could as he limped forward. He was the Grandmaster for the Shepherds, someone who his comrades saw as one who could bring forth a miracle from the smallest of chances. He was entrusted with a chance here and now, and he would be damned if he didn't make the most of it. As he pushed himself forward. he could once again see the desire he had before with such happiness, the desire that may have been beyond his grasp, but if he could do so for another...

 _Do you want a chance to fix these burdens? If not for yourself, then for those which may become who you are now?_

"I won't die here...! Not here, not now, and CERTAINLY not to the likes corpses!" he declared.

With sword ready at hand, he ran forward, prepared to strike down all that was in his way. As he did, the few Risen that did notice him snarled and readied their claws. Before either of the two parties could attack however, they all heard the voice of a girl.

"Then today's your lucky day mister! Now step back!"

With that, the Tactician staggered back and fell, right as balls of fire were shot from the direction of the voice towards the Risen near him.

* * *

As Celica walked down the pathway out of the Priory, she began to see for herself just how bad things were. The route that the group was walking on used to be much more busy, with merchants and villagers frequenting it but now, it laid empty.

 _If even this route is empty, things really must not be good... We must make haste...!_

The Priory that Celica and her friends had spent their childhoods in was near the edge of Novis, with only a few villages being nearby. This had their benefits, as they were able to grow and fish their own food for the most part, while trading goods with their fellow neighbors in order to make ends meet. As of late however, the fields had yielded less and less crop due to the drought that had begun a few years ago. The villages also slowed on their trading activities, having experienced the effects of the drought just as badly if not worse.

It wasn't much longer when she and the others had heard that people within the villages were dying, either of starvation, or other reasons that Nomah and the others had omitted, with good reason. Crimes involving brigands were on the rise, and traveling between places became less and less safe. The Priory had encounters with them before, but luckily, they had managed to fend them off thanks to magic. This was one of the main reasons why they had studied magic in the first place, hoping that if they became stronger, they would be able to defend those they loved from the dangers around them.

Unfortunately, the brigands and sackings of villages were only the beginning of their problems. It did not take long before monsters became appearing, among them were Terrors, denizens of the dead that reanimated for a singular purpose, to feast on the living. They, or rather their presence, was most likely the reason why this road was devoid of beggars and even brigands. The Terrors were monsters that could not be reasoned with, and none were exempt from their hunger, whether they be brigands or villagers. Celica could only hope that where they were about to cross, contact with those monsters would be as minimal as possible.

"We will be headed towards the Novis Greatport. As you know, this means we'll have to go through the Cemetery..." she announced.

Boey was the first to gasp, as his face began to contort into one that held fear. Mae and Genny both tried their best to be calm, but they knew that passing through that Cemetery was risky at best, and deadly at worst.

"But milady... I don't think that would be a wise choice. There are rumors that the Cemetery was where the Terrors here originated from in the first place, and Terrors are..." muttered the mage.

"So there has. We best proceed with care then." replied Celica.

Though her reply seemed a bit dismissing to Boey's worries, Celica could understand why he felt the way he did. The Terrors were unfeeling monsters that feasted on the living, so naturally they would be attracted to human settlements, villages especially. Unlike Brigands who would back off if appeased or opposed with sufficient force, the Terrors held no such emotions. They would attack relentlessly, until either their corpses were crippled sufficiently, or outright destroyed. Boey's village was one of those that had been attacked by the monsters, and while they managed to fend them off, there were many casualties among them, some of his childhood friends. Right now, the only way Celica could help his fears was to downplay it, and she could only hope that they would pass the area as quickly as possible.

"Oh Boey, how can you be so scared of spooks and spirits at your age?" taunted Mae, much to Boey's displeasure.

"Will you give me a break? A man can't help what gives him fright! Besides, I'll face down brigands anyday, but Terrors? Terrors are...different..."

"Brigands, Terrors, what's the difference!? Blast them with fire or lightning, and they both turn to ash!"

Before Boey could say anything in response, Celica let out a sigh, which got both his and Mae's attention. To their surprise, the girl who seemed so ready to lead them now held an expression of melancholy.

"Oh milady, is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry Boey, I was just remembering my brother... He was a sweet thing, but meek. Frightened to death by ghosts just as you are. Then he became one, alas. And much too young...If he was still alive, I'm sure you and him would've gotten along nicely..."

"O-Oh...I did not realize that milady, sorry..." muttered Boey as he realized what he had brought up.

"Great Boey, look at what you did? Your whining has gone and dredged up a bunch of sad memories for Celica..." said Mae, which seemed to have angered Boey.

"Wait how is that my fault? I'm not the reason why there's potentially a danger zone in front of us! We should walk around the cemetery, maybe use the woods as cover!"

"U-Um guys, I hate to break your argument b-but we're kinda getting off track." interrupted Genny, much to the trio's surprise.

"Yes, Genny's right," admitted Celica. "We really ought to get going. The Cemetery is the quickest way through the area and while it may be dangerous, it's a lot less risky than walking around it and potentially getting lost here. Besides, the quicker we get to the Port, the better it is for all of us."

"You're right I suppose, milady..." conceded Boey. "I just hope nothing big will happen and we'll get through this place quick-"

Right as the apprentice mage said this, numerous streaks of lightning shot down from the heavens, striking into the near distance. The sound of clapping thunder and the appearance of over a dozen smoke trails off into the distance followed soon after. This continued on continuously for the next few minutes or so before it finally stopped, much to the group's surprise and awe.

"Aaaand there goes that hope. What do you think happened?!" exclaimed Boey, clearly disgruntled at the current situation.

"Alright, that definitely wasn't normal! Lightning like that doesn't appear suddenly out of nowhere, and certainly not continuously like that! There must be something going on up ahead, maybe a fight between some extremely powerful sage and monster?" continued Mae, clearly disturbed by what they had seen as well.

"I-I agree, that looked more like something I read about in the books back at the Priory more than anything I've ever seen. M-Maybe we should follow Boey's advice after all...?" added Genny who shared the sentiments that the other two had, only she seemed worried as well.

"You guys are right when you say that wasn't normal. It seems whatever that was, it happened at the cemetery so we should progress with caution, so make sure your tomes ready at a moment's notice." said Celica.

"W-Wait, we're gonna go TOWARDS that?" asked Boey nervously. "N-no offense milady, but I don't think that's a wise course of action. We don't even know who or WHAT caused those lightning strikes and you're suggesting that we go towards where it is?"

"I don't like the idea either, but those lightning strikes confirmed a few things. There are monsters, Terrors nearby, and staying here will all but guarantee an encounter with them. Now I don't know about you guys, but I can only think of three things that could have caused something like that," explained Celica.

"And what are those?" asked her friends with newfound curiosity.

"One of them are existences of myths and legends, the other is something that we would have heard about long ago if even one of them resided here. This leaves only the last option, and that is a HUMAN albeit a powerful Sage or in a special case, a human hybrid of one of the previous existences I mentioned. And with how things are now, I think I'm more willing to interact with someone who has a CHANCE of being reasoned with versus Terrors where there is NONE at all."

"Hmm...When you put it that way Celica, it does make sense. Maybe if they're nice, we might even get them to join us! With power like that on our side, they will surely make the journey easier!" said Mae as she entertained the idea.

"I...will also agree with you as well. I-It definitely can't be as bad as fighting against a group of Terrors if you p-put it that way." said Genny, also agreeing with Celica.

"W-Well, I guess we don't have much of a choice huh..." resigned Boey.

"Then it's settled, we'll approach the area with caution. If we deem that they aren't hostile, we'll make an attempt to interact with them otherwise, we should be able to sneak past them and in the worst case scenario, defend ourselves long enough to escape." proclaimed Celica.

Mae, Boey, and Genny gave their agreements to the plan, and the four soon hurried towards the Cemetery. Once they arrived, they quickly hid behind the forest trees at the Cemetery's borders and what they saw confirmed their suspicions.

In the graveyard, they could make out packs of Terrors by their rotten smell and their decaying corpses, all walking or crawling towards the figure that stood at the center. There were many destroyed tombstones along with the darkened ashes of what they assumed were Terrors. It seemed that whoever the figure was, they had used that spell in self-defense, eliminating the lot that had tried to attack them. Unfortunately for the figure, there were still more of the monsters intact, all heading towards them.

"Looks like you were right Celica, it was a person. The clothing they have though, that doesn't seem like any mage or sage clothing I've ever seen before. I guess that means they are the hybrids you were talking about?" asked Mae quietly.

"I don't know yet, but they do seem to be a Magic user of some sort though, look at the Tome that's in their hands." replied Celica as she pointed at the yellow grimoire that the figure held, their free hand still radiating with the power they had used before. "Although I've never seen that Tome before, even back at the castle..."

The figure was of moderate height and wore a black cloak with golden lines running through various parts and purple markings resembling eyes on the sleeves. a hood of similar color obscuring their facial features. The group watched as the figure slipped his current Tome under his cloak, only to take out another one that was of a deep crimson color, mumbling something to themselves as they did so.

"I think they're casting another spell...! Stay back!" warned Celica as she along with the other three stepped back and watched what would unfold.

With a gesture of the figure's hand, Celica and the others soon felt a wave of power that was released by their spell and they braced themselves for what was about to happen, though none of them were ready to see what was about to happen.

At the spell's activation, the ground soon shook much to Celica and the other's surprise, and within seconds, fissures began opening up around the figure. These fissures seemed to specifically target areas near tombstones as well as the approaching Terrors and soon after, an unrestrained force of lava erupted from the fissures, unleashing a shockwave from the explosion and effectively destroyed everything within their range. The group whom was now transfixed on the scene unfolding before them, could only watch as the Terrors were melted down to nothing along with the surrounding area. The spell's effects probably lasted less than half a minute but in that matter of time, the entire landscape had changed.

The area around the figure had changed into something of of a mix between the grass and lava, with patches of grassland invaded and blackened with cooling lava which oozed out the various fissure holes around the figure. What were corpses and stones that stayed in the way of the flow simply melted down, joining the flaming black mass. Though the spell held great power, it had luckily left a few areas unaffected by the eruption and lava, which were big enough for a person or two to walk through. Smoke began to rise from all around the area as the realization of what had been done finally reached the group.

"Gods, I know they were Terrors, but talk about overkill!" exclaimed Boey, much to everyone's agreement.

"Wait look, I think they're in trouble!" said Celica as she urged the rest of them to look.

The figure had apparently fallen down onto their knees after the spell's casting, accompanied by what seemed to be heavier breathing. Their hood fell back, revealing them to be a male of pale complexion. What stood out to them however, was his hair color, which was stark white, almost unnaturally so. He seemed to be struggling, as he barely were able to force himself up, using what appeared to be a lightning sword to keep himself up.

As Celica and the others watched the figure stand back up, their attention shifted to the area outside of his spell, where Terrors were now emerging from underneath the ground as well as coming from the forest that surrounded the cemetery. Within a few minutes, a small pack had formed once more, along with the ones now coming up from under, as if they were attracted to what the figure had done.

"The Terrors seem to be gathering milady! We should get out of here before we're swarmed by them!" said Boey as he urged the rest of the group towards the cemetery's exit, which was down to their left.

"Wait, what about that man? Shouldn't we help him?" asked Celica, who looked at the figure with concern as she saw him limp towards the exit with sword in hand.

"Celica, the guy had enough juice to do something like this after using that lightning spell earlier. He'll be fine, it's us that needs to leave!"

"N-no if we don't help, I don't think he'll make it." interrupted Genny. "I can already tell from here, he's suffering from fatigue due to Magic Overuse. While this would not normally be lethal, combine that with the fumes that he unleashed and is breathing in, along with even further imposed stress through fighting, he'll probably die within an hour without treatment, hybrid or not."

"Alright, but what about our lives?! I get that saving him a person when their life is in danger is important, but there's no point if it means we're just going to die with them if we try!" he retorted.

As the group argued on what to do, their attention turned back to the figure as he readied his sword. It seemed that he had forced himself to stand fully, and with a shout, he declared;

" **I won't die here...! Not here, not now, and CERTAINLY not to the likes of corpses!"**

He then sprinted forward towards the exit, despite the fact that around three Terrors were in the way. They had noticed him and snarled in return, readying themselves to attack. In return, the figure had his sword ready, putting his all in the next few swings that he was about to make. Celica, Boey, and Genny held in their surprise as they saw his sheer willpower, having forced himself forward despite the odds. While they still were not able to make out what to do, a friend of theirs had already ran forward out into the clearing, taking the initiative to do something they all should have done a few moments back.

 **"Then today's your lucky day mister! Now step back!"**

With that, Mae's palm flared with power, and from her hands shot fire towards the Terrors that were in his way, right as the figure noticed her and staggered backwards, falling.

* * *

As Robin fell, he watched as the Fire spell that was shot his way earlier had engulfed the Risen that were closest to him in flames, having avoided the attack himself thanks to the girl's warning. Hitting the floor, he got a clear view at the mage that had helped him. She was a teenage girl, with pink pigtails along with what looked to be mage's attire of the same color, and apparently used a standard Fire Spell from her hands.

"Hey, do I have to do all the work myself?! Get down here and help me out!" she yelled, turning to the other three figures that were now approaching.

The three figures she had referred to all seemed to be magic users, with one being a cleric due to her staff, while the other two looked to be mages too. They were also of similar age too, with the boy having tanned skin along with a worried expression, the cleric user wearing clothes of the same color as the mage from before's, only a lot more plain. The last girl had red hair, her clothing reminding him of the War Clerics that he had met in the Ylissean army.

"Alright now that we're all here, let's blast these Terrors with everything we've got!" declared Mae.

"Wait!" interrupted Robin, which made the four turn to him. "That won't be an effective strategy, there's too many of them. Since you burned the Risen that were in the way of the exit, we should hurry towards it and just kill the ones that come close. If we go far enough, they should leave us alone."

As the figure said this, Celica watched as the Terrors that were trying to dig themselves out of the ground before were almost fully surfaced, along with the attention of a few of the other Terrors now turned to them after Mae had helped out the stranger.

"Mae, he's right. Those monsters are approaching as we speak, and I don't think we can put them down fast enough before they overwhelm us." said the girl with red hair.

"I also agree, the less time we have to spend fighting against those monsters, the better off we'll all be!" agreed the boy.

"Aww that's a lot less exciting but alright. Hey you, stranger!" said the girl whose name was Mae. "Can you walk?"

"Yea...I should be able to...!" replied Robin as he began to get up, only to stagger a bit.

"Scrap that then, Genny, Boey, support our friend here so he doesn't fall. Meanwhile, me and Celica will defend you guys as we escape."

"Hey, why can't I help you guys fight too?" asked Boey, frustrated with the role he had been given.

"I thought that was obvious, it's because you're the least competent mage out of the three of us!" replied Mae, much to Boey's displeasure.

"Alright you two, stop arguing and Boey, let's just help him out. The faster we get out of here, the faster I can start healing him." interrupted Genny as she hoisted one of the figure's arms on her back.

"Well alright I guess, but you owe me one Mae!" resigned Boey, hoisting the figure's other arm up as well.

"I don't know why you're helping a stranger like me to this extent, but thank you." said the Tactician to Boey, only to receive a sigh in response.

"No, don't thank me, thank milady...and Mae, it was their idea to come here in the first place. It's shameful to admit this, but I probably would have ducked out...sorry."

"Well...I wouldn't blame you four if you did. It was incredibly reckless, but kind of your friends to help me like this and regardless of your intentions, your actions speak a lot more than words so I offer you my thanks."

"Y-You're welcome then I guess...Anyways let's focus on the exit alright? The faster we're out of here, the more relieved I'll be!" responded Boey to the figure who nodded in agreement.

The gates to the Cemetery lay closer and closer as the group approached. Any Terrors that came close were blown away by the Fire spell that Celica and Mae used, though Robin noticed that they had begun to tire. Seeing this, Robin gripped the Levin Sword that was still in his hands as he prepared to make a gambit.

It did not take long before their fatigue began to influence the power and cast rates of their spells, and Robin wasn't the only one that had noticed either. A canine-like Terror ran towards them and when it got in range, it soon jumped at the duo, right as Robin took the gambit. With a wave of his sword, lightning shot down and electrocuted the monster until only a charred corpse remained. It seemed that channelling magic through the Levin Sword still used his own reserves, but the drain was much less than his tomes, much to his relief.

"T-Thanks..." muttered Celica in response to the figure's aid.

"Don't mention it, you can properly thank me later when we get out of this place!"

Rushing forward to the exit, they soon left the entrance, and as soon as they did, Mae and Celica quickly grabbed the gates and quickly closed them. Taking the opened lock on the gate, they then locked it, with the group letting out a sigh of relief as they did. With that, their pace slowed down as they looked for a clearing so they could recuperate.

After a few minutes of searching, they soon found a good area to rest, and the two put down the Tactician down as Boey and Genny sat down along with Celica and Mae. Sitting for a bit, Genny then got out her staff as she prepared to put her healing skills to use. Within a short five minutes, the rest of her group began to feel a lot better. With the main task at hand done, Genny then moved on to help the Tactician out, and after a minute, most of his earlier problems had passed for now.

"I-I've treated the symptoms of your Magic Overuse for the most part, but if you want to prevent rebounding, you're going to have to stop using Magic for the rest of the day, at least. I would also recommend you take it easy with yourself and not do anything reckless, like running towards Terrors when you can barely stand."

"That was pretty quick honestly, thank you. Also, I'll follow your advice to the best of my ability, but I can't promise you anything." said Robin with a smile, as he gave the young cleric his thanks, Genny blushing a bit in return.

"That's Genny for you, she always did have a knack for healing. I'm honestly surprised that you got off as easily as you did, I had expected at least a week's worth of rest being needed in addition to treatment with the amount of spells you casted and the power that was in them." added Celica.

 _I guess I always did have a knack for going overboard with things..._

"Anyways, what's someone like you doing in Novis? Hard to believe that a mage like yourself would lurk around these parts." interrupted Boey, which seemed to cause confusion in the figure.

"Novis...? Is that where we are now? replied Robin, grabbing Celica's attention.

"You didn't know? We're currently on Novis, which is an island that's part of the Kingdom of Zofia. While Novis is by no means big, it's not exactly an unknown place either." explained Celica, which confused Robin even further.

"An island...Kingdom of Zofia...? Sorry, but until just about a while ago, I was on the continent known as Ylisse, and near a place called Origin Peak." replied the Tactician, omitting the more...personal events.

"I'm sorry, but I've never heard of the places you speak of. We are on the continent of Valentia, which is home to two kingdoms, Zofia and Rigel."

"The continent of Valentia...? No, that can't be...that's impossible..." said Robin who was stunned by the information given to him.

"Hey mister, I think it's more impossible that you don't seem to know information that's pretty much common knowledge. If I were a betting girl, I'd say you're lying, so you better tell us the truth! You may be an extremely powerful mage, but with the state you're in right now, we can and will kill you if you prove to be a threat to us." threatened Mae.

"Wow, and that's twice we've made an agreement, all in one day! I think that's a new record!" added the boy. "Anyways, I agree with Mae as well. I don't want to do it, especially after we put our lives on the line to help you, but we will if you don't tell us the truth right now. Where did you come from, and who are you?"

Robin was all but shocked at the accusations, but more so the information that was given to him. If he had remembered his history, Valentia was the previous name of the continent he knew as Valm. It was named after the king of the First Empire of that continent, who had managed to unite the kingdoms that had existed on the continent prior to this, their names lost to history. If the Valentia that these four were referring to was that very same continent, which would mean...

 _Wait, if this is a whole different continent, shouldn't the language spoken be different? No...The case here seems different...did this have something to do with Ashunera...? Gods, am I in the past? That shouldn't be possible though, even if "Time Travel" exists..._

While the concept of "Time Travel" was possible, Robin knew that there were limits to it, and many at that. First, the period that one traveled to was in fact not the traveler's world, but an "Outrealm", a world that was "parallel" to theirs. In other words, whatever their actions they performed in that world would not affect the world that they had come from in any way.

Second, the amount of worlds you could travel to was limited relative to the traveler's home world. This meant that one could only travel to a world of similar circumstances and possibilities as their home world, as going anywhere further was incredibly difficult to outright impossible. This was what Lucina along with the rest of the Future Children as well as _it_ had used to travel back in time, to travel to his world. In other words, "time traveling" to a world that could have been a "Parallel World" to the traveler's own, but further in the past or future was possible, but only to a limited range as going too far back or forward would result in a drastic change the circumstances and possibilities and thus, worlds like those would be out of range for the traveler.

Finally, the sheer amount of energy and control needed to travel through worlds was immense, to the point where even god like beings such as Naga would be limited in their usage. In addition to this, if the sufficient amount of energy and control were not met sufficiently, the Outrealm Gate would simply not open. This was not the worst case scenario however, as he knew that if control had been lost in the process of said travel, the one traveling would be forever trapped in the "Void" between worlds. This meant that traveling between Outrealms was incredibly risky and dangerous, something that existences close to gods would only use as a last resort.

This was what he had learned from Anna, one of many of her sisters who he had come to know as "Merchants of the Outrealms". They were knowledgeable on the subject to the point where they perhaps even knew more than Naga herself. The information that he had also seemed to be somewhat confidential too, with him only learning it from their Anna after saving her, getting to know her over a long period, and most importantly, after giving her a hefty "donation" before anything was said. Despite this, it seemed that this was simply just the tip of the iceberg, as the expression that Anna had shown him that day showed that there was A LOT more than what he now knew, but her lips were sealed.

 _Although I don't know yet, but it seems like the idea of me being in the past is likely... While I should not, cannot tell them the truth of my situation, I don't want to betray their goodwill either. They had risked their lives for me so I should be somewhat honest... I guess a half-truth will have to do..._

"I'm sorry if I gave off the notion of dishonesty, but allow me to clarify things. My name is Robin, and as for where I come from, Ylisse, it is most likely a continent that's pretty far away from here. I was a tactician for the Shepherds, a militia for the Halidom of Ylisse, one of the many nations on the continent. The reason why you found me in the Cemetery was because it seemed that I had been sent here after an...incident that I got involved in. While the information here might seem a bit...faulty... I can assure you that I am telling the truth, and I apologize for my confusion from earlier."

"I...think he's telling the truth. While I'm not an expert or anything, his expression did not flicker at all when he had said that. I think that we should at least consider what he said, even if it does sound a bit outlandish." said Celica first, to her group's surprise.

"I CAN'T exactly disagree with what Celica says, but I still think he's hiding something..." said Mae.

"Yea, how do we know beyond a doubt that what you're saying is true Robin?" added Boey, agreeing with Mae.

"Well I can't exactly prove it to you, but what reason would I have for lying? You four did help me out greatly there, so I don't really have any reason to hold any ill will towards any of you. Besides, it's as you said, I am currently in no good condition to defend myself so even if you for some reason still think I mean to do you harm, I wouldn't be capable of doing such to any significant extent for at least the next few days." responded Robin.

"I-I think we should trust him for now..." said Genny nervously. "He doesn't really seem like anyone we've ever seen before, nor does he hold any ill intent towards us at the moment."

"Now that we're done with the trust issues and all, I feel like we can finally introduce ourselves properly. My name is Celica, and once again, thank you for helping me out earlier."

"Celica already mentioned it before, but my name is Mae. Since you did help us wipe those Terrors out and Celica seems fine with you, I think we can trust you in that regard. I'll be watching though, so don't try anything sneaky!"

"My name is Boey, a mage and a close friend to milady and Mae. I hope for your sake and ours, that what you say is the truth."

"I'm Genny, unlike my friends, I'm just a simple healer. It's nice to meet you Robin."

 _Celica...that name sounds familiar...but anyways, that should have warmed them up a little to my presence. I guess I can ask them a few things now without worrying about too much backlash._

"Yes..it's nice to meet you four as well. May I ask what you four were doing though? Since this place seems filled with Risen, I would think that traveling isn't that good of an idea?" asked Robin.

"We didn't really have a choice. I assume the "Risen" you mentioned were those monsters?" replied Celica, to which Robin nodded. "The monsters you call "Risen" are what we call Terrors with those specifically being Revenants. We are in the middle of a famine, and the appearances and aggressiveness of those Terrors have only risen as of late. With food and water getting sacer by the day, we needed try to find a solution. We believe that these problems have something to do with Mila, the patron deity of Zofia so we decided to go investigate."

 _Mila...that's the name of the Divine Dragon that the Mila Tree in Valm was named after. It was also the place where we found her...This pretty much confirms that I'm in the past. Is this perhaps the time period of when the First Exalt appeared...? Perhaps I should confirm it with a question..."_

"The problems you present do seem dire Celica, and I admire you and your group's actions. It's usually people with a mindset like yours that gets things done most of the time. Anyways about your problems, have any of you ever heard of a figure by the name of Grima?"

 _Alright, depending on how she answers that, I should be able to have a firm grasp on what time period I'm in. Whatever it is though, it seems like I've been sent a long way backwards, almost impossibly so. If this was that woman, Ashunera's doing, then she really was someone whose power was otherworldly, a true "goddess"._

"I've...never heard of such a figure, why do you ask?" replied Celica.

"Grima, that's the name of the figure that used to plague Ylisse. It was known as the Fell Dragon, and one of its greatest and most terrifying powers was its ability to raise the dead at will. The Risen that you saw here are like mere specks of dust compared to the monsters that were raised by that dragon." said Robin as he remembered some of the more powerful Risen that he and the others had to fight, such as the Deadlords. "They were revived in the most twisted way possible, with any semblance of humanity erased but nearly all of the abilities they had in life retained. The more powerful ones held intelligence as well, being able to give me and my friends a fight that we would never forget."

"I see...so that's why you held no fear in the middle of the cemetery despite seeing all those monsters. As for this Grima, how did you ever manage to put down such a threat?" asked Celica curiously, both her and her friends holding a small bit of disbelief along with fear towards Robin's story.

"Through countless battles and sacrifices along with aid from those that knew that monster better than we ever would've dared found out, we...managed to put it down with the power of a Divine Sword." responded Robin, though his reply was shaky, due to the true nature of how things ended. Luckily for him, Celica and the others didn't seem to notice.

"A Divine Sword...that sounds like something out of the legends themselves, but I digress. Anyways Robin, we were planning on going to the Zofia Greatport in hopes of getting onto a ship. Since you seem to be new to this land and all, would you like to come with us, at least until we reach the port?" asked Celica.

As Robin got Celica's reply, the situation before him had both good and bad to it. The good part about it was that Grima most likely did not exist yet, which meant that the Fell Dragon currently wasn't a threat. The bad news however, was that he was most likely in a time period known as the "Lost Age", a time period in Valm's history that predated the creation of the "First Empire", whose history had been lost to the scholars of his time. This meant that whatever time period he was in now, he no knowledge of what would happen. This meant little however, as what he planned to do had already been decided when the group in front of him stated what they were looking for.

 _They said that they were looking for a solution to their problem, and that it most likely had something to do with Mila. If this is the case, then it's likely that they were looking for the Divine Dragon herself. The Tree that was named after Mila, that's where we had first seen "The Voice"...which means that if I follow them, perhaps maybe I'll get to see her too..._

Though the chances were slim that Celica and her friends would even get to meet the Divine Dragon known as Mila, the chances of that dragon knowing where she was even the smaller than that. Despite this, he had to take this it, and he would do everything in his power to make sure that the group in front of him reached their goal, for if that would give him that very chance, he would take it.

 _"Do you want to see her?"_

That was one of the things that Ashunera had asked him before she sent him here, and appearing before him now was that very chance. In the tactician, a new hope had birthed in him and he wanted, needed to see it through to the end, if not for his sake, then for her's.

"If you're willing to have me, I'd be happy to come with you." he replied simply, yet that very same reply held in it the greatest of hopes.

He could see her again, he could see Tiki again.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **And that's it for this chapter.** ** _Did you enjoy it? If you have any suggestions, improvements, or questions,_** ** _I would love to hear them._**

 ** _I will also be addressing a few points I've added to the story that may have been a bit confusing below. This may contain what some of you consider spoilers, so if you don't want any of that, then I hope to see you again next time._**

 ** _..._**

 **First, Robin's Mark of Grima disappeared because the connection between him and the Grima of his world was severed, which meant that the Blood Pact between him and Grima had ended, which was supposed to result in both Robin and Grima's end, as they were technically the "one and the same". What I interpreted from his return back to Chrom and the others in the Canon lore, was that through The Avatar's bond with the shepherds, he was able to stabilize himself as an individual existence that wasn't Grima and thus, return even though Grima died. As for what specific world that Avatar returns to, I think it's up to what kind of individual existence that the Avatar had established themselves as, with them ending up in whatever world that is compatible or in the case of this story, the interference of someone with sufficient power. As the Robin of this story had accepted his role as the Fell Dragon's vessel in the end, and had wished for the security and prosperity of his friends and their future descendants at the cost of his life. As such, he ended up where Ashunera was, an endless ocean devoid of creation, with him only having some semblance of life at the time due to his final wish, the weight of it** **differentiating his existence to some extent from Grima. What Ashunera did was simply spur Robin on so that he would fully establish himself as a separate existence, and sent him to a world where he could fulfill his newfound goal. Since this Robin had accepted his heritage in the end, but managed to develop himself into a separate existence from Grima due the polarity between his and the Fell Dragon's desires, the weight of this contradiction resulted in Robin being established as a separate existence from the Grima, but still retaining some of the abilities he had as the Fell Dragon's vessel. Hopefully this explains Robin's comment about no longer having the mark of the Fell Dragon, but still feeling it's power inside of him. While Robin may technically now be his own separate existence, his likeness to Grima still exists, and this will be brought into question later on, especially when Duma, Mila, Tiki, and others appear in the story, along with The Creation.**

 **Second, the rules that I wrote for Outrealm Traveling was a "common sense" method of limiting the sheer possibilities that such a concept possesses. If there were no theoretical limits to this concept, it would open up a whole Pandora's Box of issues, and affect pretty much the entirety of the Canon-verse. The limitation of "distance" between worlds relative to their similarities specifically, was my main method of doing this, and this rule was never truly broken in this story, but only bent due to the interference of a "true" goddess in the form of Ashunera. She was able to do this as I perceived that she was significantly more powerful than the Divine Dragons due to her powers of creation and destruction as well as her status as an actual deity versus Naga and the others, who openly proclaim that they aren't gods, but just really powerful Divine Dragons. With that, the rules I established were "bent" but not broken due to Robin's travel to Valentia being technically possible due to the nature of his existence, only needing someone of sufficient power such as Ashunera to do the rest. Fortunately or unfortunately, this means that besides Robin and Tiki, other members of the Awakening cast won't be making an appearance in this story. As for the rest of the rules, that was just to clarify things a bit clearer.**

 **Finally, the idea of Robin getting fatigued here was my take on the idea of Spells needing HP to be casted in Gaiden/Echoes versus the durability system in Awakening. Basically, the main method of using magic in Awakening is the channeling of power through the Tome itself, while in Gaiden/Echoes, significant portions of the power is being used directly from the user instead of the Tome. Due to the difference in casting as well as being distracted with the situation at hand, Robin goes a bit overboard with the spells he used, which resulted in him finding out about this when it was too late. I would also like to make a distinction in this story between a Tome and a spell, where the Tome is the book containing the contents of the spell, while the spell is the actual effect of the attack released from the Tome. Though the spells he used would have been considered extremely potent if they existed in Gaiden/Valentia, they would also have a reasonable drain on the user's stamina and Robin was only able to spam Arcthunder as much as he did because of the traits granted to him as the Fell Dragon's vessel, but it has limits to it and in the end, he's only human.**

 **Hopefully, this clears up a few of the questions you guys may have had for this chapter. If there's anything else that I left out, feel free to give me a Review or PM with your question, and I'll answer them to the best of my ability later on.**


	3. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer:_** _I_ ** _do not own Fire Emblem nor any of the characters in the franchise. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of such content. No copyright infringement is intended._**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Within the confines of the ruins that was once a proud city, it moved itself forward. There was nothing else in its vicinity yet the place held a great pressure to it. The wings it had opened, and it began to float upwards, it's eyes opening to reveal a deep purple tint. The creature resembled a dragon, yet it's grotesque eyes and presence stated otherwise. Letting out a horrible shriek, it began charging a bolt of energy and aimed it towards the cave's walls with but a single intention in mind; to destroy this prison.

The creature then let loose the energy, resulting in a shot of sheer power that caused an explosion, resulting in rocks and debris raining down. This attack however, was futile as was it's past attempts, with the ruins walls remaining intact despite such power.

While this was a result that the creature was all too familiar, it began to feel quite a bit more frustration than it had before. This was additional power that it gained after consuming the essence of one the fools above that had tried to harness its power, but still to no avail. This and another disturbing revelation left the dragon-like abomination to seethe at the results.

The creature had sensed another like itself.

This was an understandable revelation, for in all it's time down here in these ruins, it had sensed many existences. The first was an existence that held a weak lease to life, yet strived forward nonetheless. These were humans, the first existence it had seen in its creation. Though they were weak, they were as numerous as they were tenacious, for despite such weakness, they continued to thrive. It soon came to sense various other existences of varying strength, but in the end, they were all the same...they were different from it, they were **below** it.

It had expected this to be the norm, that was until it had sensed them. They were existences that were much like its own, but yet so very different. They were few in number and had varying levels of strength, but nonetheless were all formidable, with there even being a few that could fight against it directly. These would become what it understood to be Dragons, a supposed apex existence in this world, and existences that could be considered closest to it.

Despite this however, it knew that it was not a true dragon. Though they were creatures that were incredibly powerful, they like all other creatures, held a "completion" to their existence that it had lacked. It had known from the beginning, just as the first human it had met told it, it's existence was not natural. It was the only one of its kind, what it perceived as an incomplete existence that only knew pain, but was ironically considered a "perfect" lifeform as quoted by _that_ human.

With such circumstances, it had accepted it's place within the world, and it had planned to wait in patience. Though it was trapped now, it knew that it's freedom was inevitable. When such a day came, it would reveal itself and show all others it's might. It who was "incomplete" would crush and devour those who were "complete", and perhaps then the pains of its existence would be alleviated.

That was to be the creature's role, the creature's plan, until it showed up. The other existence that was the same but at the same time, completely different. It had held a similar presence and feel, and it had an emerging hunger that could be compared to the creature's own in time. This existence however, also held the presence of a human, but most disturbing of all it was "complete". This "human" was now the closest it had to a kin, yet it's "completion" was something that disturbed the creature greatly.

How could there be such a paradox? An existence that held an essence that was a near mirror of its own twisted existence, yet did not feel have the same gaping void, the very incompletion that was the creature itself. The creature found a new emotion that bubbled within it, a curiosity along with a rage that was incomparable to even it's frustrations from before. It needed to know more.

Right now however, it lacked the means to leave this place, or even to simply communicate with those outside it and such a fact did nothing more than enrage it more. The creature thrashed and roared in anger for a while before calming itself.

Such anger did not befit an existence like it. From the very beginning, it's existence was one brought about by pain and incompletion, and from such trials it had learned. These turn of events were unexpected, but it wasn't anything that the existence couldn't get a better grasp of in time. As it continued to sense the current situation, the creature became eerily silent.

A full scale war was brewing at the location of the existence, another conflict on a distant continent made by petty humans though this time, with what seemed to be two particularly strong dragons on opposing sides. This along with the presence of the new existence that shared its essence, would no doubt result in the dragons that were above it getting involved too. The conflict was about to intensify, one that would perhaps even exceed the bloodshed that another dragon had started long ago in a distant land.

In such circumstances the creature gleefully understood the situation. Regardless of the circumstances that surrounded the numerous conflicts throughout time, an outsider such as itself would simply have to wait until an opportunity appeared. When this happens, all one would have to do is decisively present themselves, and all the spoils would be theirs. And so, it would do as it has always done.

The creature released a pulse of it's twisted energy around it, making a sound that could only be described as being like that of a cackle. For now, if it could not use it's newly gained power to escape, then the creature would use it for other means.

In all but a few moments, it's singular presence was no more, as the ground shook and cracked, and the bodies of those long past stirred and arose. Their presence was devoid of the luster they held in life but now moved with the same energies that the creature had behind its eyes.

It would wait and watch.

* * *

 _About a year prior to Robin's arrival in Zofia..._

The War of Shadows had ended around a year ago, and fortunately for Marth, it seemed that things have finally settled down. Shortly after he had slayed Medeus, celebrations were to be had and the continent of Archanea held its breath, still unable to believe that Dolhr had finally been defeated. This period would soon pass and another question would arise, something that many sought the answer to.

That question was, what now?

Dolhr had left in it's wake, the multiple kingdoms that were either coerced or forced to ally with it had been left without leaders. In addition, the various kingdoms that had formed the opposition force which had toppled Dolhr, the Archanean League, had their own problems to fix as well. Out of the four kingdoms whose forces had made up the league, only Talys emerged relatively unscathed, largely thanks to its natural geographic separation from the rest of the continent.

The process of rebuilding for the rest of the kingdoms was still ongoing as they spoke, thanks to the efforts of the Altean Prince and the other various leaders that were appointed after the political meeting that happened in response to the question that was asked. In this meeting, there was a variety of people that were present, many with different desires and origins that had to be set aside during this rather unstable period.

In an effort to start the rebuilding that would take place for the various kingdoms of Archanea, new leaders would have to assigned for the ones that had needed it. For a few of these kingdoms, the choice was unanimous such as the decision of Prince Marth taking the role as the new king of Altea and General Lorenz for Grust due to various circumstances. Others were met with hesitation from the candidates themselves, such as Minerva for Macedon and Sheena for Gra, but accepted out of loyalty towards their kingdoms.

Some of the smaller kingdoms did not not really need any appointment of rulers, as they were either unscathed in the case of Talys, annexed into one of the more prominent kingdoms such as Pyrathi which had fallen under the jurisdiction of the Altea, or were never supposed to be a kingdom in the first place and had only became one in the war, this being the case with Khadein. In the case of the latter, the surviving members of the magical kingdom reassembled with the death of the Dark Pontifex Gharnef and worked in conjunction with the White Sage and some of the other prominent members of the magical realm in order to undo the damage that Gharnef caused in his short reign.

As for Aurelius, this kingdom would end up merging with the Kingdom of Archanea, as a result of the marriage between Hardin of Aurelius and Princess Nyna of the Archanean Kingdom in an effort to solidify the unity of both kingdoms as a whole. This in addition to the marriage of Marth and Caeda, which was an effort to solidify relations between Talys and Altea, resulted nearly all of the kingdoms of the continent resolving their political conflicts, allowing for them to finally refocus their efforts on rebuilding after the war.

This left the one final kingdom, that being the Dolhr, one who's very legitimacy was called into question by nearly all the other kingdoms on the continent. It was originally an empire forged by Medeus in his desire for vengeance, a kingdom which that would supposedly serve as a safe haven for manaketes after centuries of being subject to human abuse. After the War of Shadows, the forces uniting the kingdom had fallen apart and it's lands and populace were left without a leader. While much of the peasants, nobles, and even some of the Archanean League's backers thought that Marth would seek vengeance or at least punish the manaketes of Dolhr that had surrendered and as a result, spared after the war's end, Marth's decision would differ greatly.

Marth had declared that Dolhr would remain it's own kingdom, something that shocked many, even the manaketes that had originally took up arms against the Archanean League. In addition, the Altean Prince had also made a proposal that would outlaw many of the previous laws that were common knowledge to humans regarding the treatment of manaketes. Outside of the Archanean League whom have decided to stay neutral on the subject, there was significant opposition to Marth's proposals, particularly from the citizens of Macedon.

Regardless of the opposition however, many knew the significance that Marth held during the war as the descendant of Anri and were not keen to oppose his decision directly. In addition, the Prince's decision also had the backing of the famed White Sage and a few other prominent members of the Archanean league , and as a result, his proposals were reluctantly adopted into law by the other kingdoms. For Dolhr specifically, it's method of governing would resemble something similar to a republic, with Gotoh being the head of newly established kingdom.

Marth knew that this decision would not be appreciated by many, his allies could somewhat understand the reason why he had decided to do this and as a result, the situation was less tense than it could have been. In addition, the process of rebuilding held a much greater priority to every kingdom so few had the time or desire to oppose their actions. With this decision, the perspective of many manaketes changed towards the Prince, some more greatly than others. Regardless, Marth was glad that he could finally address the split that festered between humanity and the manaketes, something which had been neglected for centuries at this point.

With reconstruction occuring on nearly every kingdom, the measures of some kingdoms taking more drastic than others, this period of time could be thought as peaceful, but only time could tell if it could last or not.

These were the thoughts that crossed Marth's head as he finished the final rounds of his work for that afternoon. With that out of the way, Marth relaxed himself, as it seems he could finally get a break after an entire morning and nearly an entire afternoon of work. This thought however, would be interrupted as the doors to his room opened.

"Good Afternoon Prince Marth, judging by your stature, I take it that you've finished with your work for the day?" said a gruff voice, one that Marth instantly recognized.

"I've still got more to do later on but I am for now." replied Marth. "I assume you didn't come all the way from Dolhr just to casually talk right, Gotoh?"

Marth knew that the past few months or so have been busy for all the leaders around the continent, and especially for the sage. One of the highest priorities Gotoh had in mind was ensuring that one of the key instigators of the War of Shadows, his former student, Gharnef was dealt with permanently.

While it was well known that Gharnef was effectively invincible when wielding his Imhullu tome, after the events at the Tower of Thabes, Gharnef had met his demise at the hands of Linde, who wielded the reforged Starlight. The events that Marth and the others detailed on how the Dark Pontifex died however, unsettled even Gotoh.

Gharnef had died at the hands of his own machinations, with the dark energies that the mage had attempted to harness from beneath Thabes killing him from the inside out. All that remained of the man and his tome was dust, a manner of death that Marth and the others had never seen before. This along with the remnants of Gharnef's influence seemingly erased from the darksphere, prompted Gotoh and others of Khaedin to scour and rid the area of the Dark Pontifex's followers along with anyone else that would seek the dark arts that Gharnef wielded.

Their attempts had largely been successful, but time consuming and strenuous, leaving Gotoh with little time for outside interaction thanks to his additional duties as the current head of the new Dolhr kingdom. Thus, whatever Gotoh had wanted to talk about must have been important.

"Yes, it's not exactly the best time to talk about it but I've come bearing good news and bad news." said Gotoh. He then searched underneath his robes for a moment before taking out yellow shards that seemed all too familiar to the Prince.

"Could those be...?" muttered Marth as Gotoh handed the five shards to him.

"It is as you suspect Prince Marth. These are the shards of the broken Starsphere." said the White Sage. "Since the end of the war, I've sought to use my abilities to seek the location of where the broken sphere's shards were sent to. With any luck, I've managed to retrieve these three."

"I see...How many are left then?" asked Marth with a bit of worry. During Starlight's forging, they did not have the time to see many pieces the Starsphere had broke into as there was more pressing matters then. How many remaining pieces needed would most likely determine whether the Starsphere could be feasibly reforged or not.

"Unfortunately, there are still six shards remaining." said Gotoh with resignation. "Out of those remaining shards, three of them are still in Archanea but the other ones however..."

Marth already understood the meaning behind Gotoh's words, and he let out a rather long sigh. Even with a good amount of luck, finding the three other shards that at the very least, still remained on the continent would already prove to be a difficult task.

"I see...I assume those other shards are on another continent then...?"

"Yes, specifically Valentia. I was unable to determine specifically where those shards are on but they are definitely there. As for the remaining shards in Archanea, two should be in the Kingdom of Archanea's territory while the final one should be somewhere in Grust."

While the last three shards wouldn't pose too much of a problem to retrieve, the others posed a problem to Marth, as Archanea as a continent's relationship with the other continents could be described as more isolationist than anything. Travel between continents was definitely possible, but unfeasible due to the amount of time and resources it took. In addition, Marth was sure that all the continents had their own issues to deal with, and thus, traveling and communicating with those so far away could be considered nothing but a luxury.

This didn't stop rumors from spreading about a war that was also brewing in Valentia as Marth and the others fought against Medeus. If these rumors were true, then most likely Valentia would be in the middle of the conflict as they speak. In his mind, this and the other risks that came with traveling to lands that might as well be unknown were too great of a risk to consider.

"Gotoh...you already know what I'm probably going to say in response to your information..." replied Marth. Although the benefits of being able to collect those shards were great, it simply wasn't feasible in their current situation.

"You aren't wrong to worry Prince Marth, Valentia is beyond my ability to influence with magic as well." said Gotoh. "However, if my memory serves right, there should be two figures that should be able to help there."

"Hm? You know people that there that can help us?" asked Marth curiously.

"To say that they can help us was perhaps a bit of a stretch..." admitted Gotoh. "However, do you recall when I talked to you about the history of Archanea and it's neighboring continents, I mentioned two Divine Dragon that were banished due to an argument with Naga."

Hearing these words, Marth did remember Gotoh mentioned on an off-comment about a pair of siblings of the Divine Dragon tribe being part of the rift that was formed between dragons due to the Naga's views on humanity although he did not suspect that it would hold any relevance today.

"The location they were banished to...that was Valentia?"

"Yes, Valentia's population was abysmally low in the past compared to now, which was why Naga chose to banish them there." explained Gotoh as he sighed, remembering events long passed. "It was meant not just as a punishment but also a way for the young siblings to gain a different perspective on other lifeforms. And it seems like she made the right decision. They are most likely responsible for the populations that currently reside there."

Hearing Gotoh's explanation, Marth had recalled from a long time ago back when he was much younger, there would be the occasional rare foreign ship that would arrive on Altea's ports, it's sailors claiming to have arrived from other continents including Valentia. During one of these times, he had heard one of these sailors mentioning an "Earth Mother" or something along those lines to his late father when asked about their homeland. This figure was one of these Divine Dragon siblings, especially if they were as revered and powerful as the rest of their kind.

"If we could get their help especially if they hold such a significant standing there, then finding the shards should be easy!" concluded Marth. He was eager that a possibility had potentially presented itself but this idea seemed to be a bit of a stretch once he saw Gotoh's expression.

"If it was that easy, we would have established better connections with Valentia ages ago..." said Gotoh sadly. "The siblings still see this land as Naga's territory, and their relationship with us is only neutral as best. I worry that if we are to contact them especially at a time like this, it may not end well for both parties."

"I see...so it is isn't feasible huh..."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that Prince Marth, what I stated was merely the worse case scenario." stated Gotoh. "The reforging of Starsphere and by extension, the completion of the Shield of Seals was a concern for the siblings too."

"Hm? If I recall right, the Shield of Seals served as a way to prevent the Feral Dragons from resurfacing after they had been defeated right?" asked Marth. Although Marth knew that this was the main purpose of the seal, he also knew it had other powers too. One of these was when he wielded currently incomplete shield against Medeus, which not only repelled his attacks, but also weakened the latter enough for Marth to finish him with Falchion.

"Indeed and as I'm sure you are also familiar with, it also weakens the power of dragons within the vicinity should they be feral or hold significant malicious intent. It was what allowed you to obtain victory over Medeus and the Divine Dragons to triumph over the Feral Dragons millenia ago." said Gotoh. "To simplify things a bit, put it this way, the Shield of Seals is an extra layer of insurance in addition to the Falchion should those as powerful as the siblings become feral"

The explanation in a way, was strange to the Prince. Thinking back to what Gotoh had stated, the Divine Dragon siblings had been banished to Valentia as a result of a feud with Naga, and as a result, started a new civilization there that they could theoretically rival Archanea's. If this was the case, why would they be in favor of items such as the Falchion and Shield of Seals existing, when such weapons can easily be used against them and their reign, especially the former?

"Gotoh allow me to ask you, but why were the Divine Dragons willing to go so far as to even prepare relics that were to be specifically used against them? I can understand the desire to secure the status of humanity, which Naga had deemed as worthy inheritors of the land, but wouldn't it be going a bit far to prepare insurance to such an extent?" asked Marth.

Although Marth was by no means, a paranoid person or any of the sort, even he felt as if the lengths that the Divine Dragons took were a bit far. To prepare your successor while also giving them the means to end you swiftly was something that was completely unheard of in royalty, something that he was sure many others would see as short sighted and foolish.

"It was out of love." admitted Gotoh. "Indeed as you say Prince Marth, that normally would be a foolish action, and many of the other manaketes shared your sentiment. However, I hope you can understand, when you and others of your kind is threatened with a fate worse than death, a fate that would undo everything you have accomplished, everything you ever were and will be, drastic measures had to be taken. Even if such measures may result in your demise. "

"Even as the two Divine Dragon siblings, Duma and Mila were banished, they never forgot these words. This is why I'm sure that the reforging of the Shield of Seals will be something they will support." finished Gotoh.

"I see..." muttered Marth. Although he still held a bit of doubt in Gotoh's words, the White Sage had been one of his more earlier supporters, going so far as to support him by telling him all the information he had so far.

As the White Sage had put his faith on him when he and the Archanean League was still a meager force compared to Dolhr's, by his honor as an Atlean Prince, he would return the favor to Gotoh, even if he personally held his doubts.

"Alright Gotoh, I'll see what I can do. The situation in Altea and the rest of the kingdoms is still not as stable as I would like it to be but I'll see if we can put together a force to travel to Valentia." resigned Marth.

"I thank you for your consideration Prince Marth. With that then, I'll take my leave." said Gotoh, though right as he prepared to depart, he caught a glimpse of a red veil trailing behind a figure who hurried off after his conversation with the Prince was finished.

 _Looks like the young princess overheard our discussion..._

"Prince Marth, if you do not mind me asking, may I inquire you on Tiki's current condition?" asked Gotoh which seemed to have been a question that was both pleasant yet unexpected for the Prince judging by his expression.

"Ah, she's been doing pretty well. Bantu has remained as her caretaker at the moment though sometimes I find myself in such a role when he's busy." laughed Marth. "If anything, she's enjoying life as if any girl would, away from affairs such as politics and war, although her liveliness can sometimes get in the way of things."

Most of what Marth said had been true, as ever since the end of the War of Shadows, the young dragon sicon had been living a rather peaceful life. Under the care of Bantu and with Xane occasionally coming over to see her, Tiki seems to have at the very least, adjusted to her new environment. Unfortunately, it wasn't all fun and games as Marth had hoped it could be.

To summarize it simply, Tiki had a bit of an energetic streak that few could keep up with. Marth had remembered that in some of these instances, the dragon sicon had utilized her dragon form as a method of "playing" multiple times, and it was only with the help of Bantu that they could calm the girl down. In addition, Tiki also seemed to have a bit of attachment to him as well, seeing him as someone like an uncle or brother, which usually meant that she was interested in his affairs.

Of course, this went directly against what Marth had hoped for the young manakete, a life away from fighting and politics. In a way, her current lifestyle was already a risk, as Gotoh had warned him about the reason why Naga had put her daughter to sleep before her assumed death. That was, an immature manakete's rather energetic state and the strain such power would hold on a manakete, especially at such a young age.

Tiki was a powerful manakete, and any doubts about that were extinguished once the Archanean League had convinced the young divine dragon to assist them back in the Fane of Raman. Tiki was part of the strongest tribe among dragons and not only that, but the direct daughter of the leader of that tribe too as well. As young as she was, her breath attacks when in dragon form could easily decimate enemy human forces and the scales of other manaketes alike. Even when her scales were still developing, they were easily able to withstand attacks from ordinary blades that were meant to tear through dragonskin and they would only grow stronger as she matured.

It wasn't surprising at all that Naga had planned to put her daughter to sleep until a time when she could manage her own powers, and keep her impulses in check. Among the terrible things that Gharnef had done, Marth had to admit that enlisting Tiki to guard the Fane of Raman was a cunning decision, although this ended up backfiring as he did not taking Bantu into account.

It was only thanks to the efforts of Bantu, Xane, himself, and the rather tolerant populace that had enabled the young manakete to live a life that she was seemingly never meant to have. This was a fact that Marth held pride in, and for all the little annoyances that the dragon scion could cause, this fact had given Marth solace in his decision.

"I see...it seems placing the young Manakete Princess in your care was a good decision after all..." replied Gotoh, this time more cheerily.

Gotoh had long since supported Marth on many of his actions, but initially, Marth's request towards him to allow Tiki to remain awake rather than to be put back to sleep of the few things that the White Sage had disapproved of. It was not something he himself had any issue with, in fact, he felt pity for the young girl's situation. It was Naga however, that had asked Gotoh to put the girl back to sleep, and her reasons for making this request wasn't unreasonable either.

It was only after Marth, Xane, and even Bantu had asked the same request of him and the own girls' wishes that had convinced him to at least give Prince's request a try. Luckily for him, it seemed to have payed off as none of the risks that Naga had spoke of to him had shown any signs of manifesting. This had brought a bit more cheer to the White Sage, who could only ponder whether this was the results of the human and manakete cooperation that was before him, or just plain luck. Thinking back to the situation at hand, Gotoh could only hope that Tiki had not gotten any unreasonable ideas into her head after overhearing their conversation.

"That was all I had to say to you today Prince Marth. I thank you for your efforts with regard to my request. " stated Gotoh. Marth responded with a nod and with that, he left.

Gotoh could already feel that the rest of the day was going to be a busy one, but first, he would have to reprehend the young sicon on her behavior.

* * *

Tiki's day was a rather peaceful one so far, and it looked to only become more exciting after she had overheard Mar-Mar and old man Gotoh and their conversation. After a rather good breakfast and lunch and a few varying games such as tag, she had wanted to see what was Mar-Mar up to, as he had been too busy of late to play with her. Although she did not hear everything, it was enough to get her excited for what lay ahead.

They were going to have another adventure.

She really did enjoy her current situation, she could sleep and play as much as she wanted, and she was never alone either. Mar-Mar was even nice enough to convince Gotoh to put her to sleep back in that cold castle again, something she greatly appreciated.

What was the point of sleeping there anyways? She still recalled the rather vivid nightmares she would have during her past slumbers, but they seem to have subsided ever since she was here. Tiki didn't really know the reason why this was the case, but she was certainly happy about it! Despite that though, Tiki remembered the travels that Bantu had taken her on in the past, where there were always new lands, new people, and new animals, and back then, she felt as if she didn't have the strange feeling she had now.

Tiki hated to admit this in a way, but she could not understand why she was feeling off. Staying here had been fun and thanks to some of the strange "games" that Xane had played with her, she even felt more energetic, she felt stronger. This coupled with her impatience had made the dragon sicon feel as if she was missing something, even though she honestly couldn't think of anything significant to complain about at the time.

It was only after hearing Marth and Gotoh's conversation did Tiki finally realize what she had wanted. What her time with Bantu had given her which all of this couldn't was something new. When they had mentioned the new land, its name being "Vaalntia" or something like that, that strange feeling she has had all but disappeared, and all that remained was excitement. It was only then did Tiki put two and two together and realize that she had wanted to travel again. She had wanted to see new sights with those she cared about by her side, and now was her chance!

"Tiki, you're probably thinking about going to Valentia aren't you?" asked an all too familiar voice to the young manakete.

"Ehh? Gotoh?" replied the startled manakete. "You saw me? No fair! I even made sure I picked a good hiding spot! Even Ban-Ban wouldn't be able to see me from where you were!"

"Now now, I might be a bit old, but I'm still aware of my surroundings." said Gotoh.

"Aww now I have to find a new hiding spot..." pouted the young manakete. A moment later however, she became excited again after remembering the topic at hand. "But anyways, can I go Gotoh? Please? It will be like a new adventure, with Mar-Mar, Ban-Ban, Xane, and everyone else!"

Hearing this, Gotoh let out a sigh. Although it would have been beneficial to let Tiki travel to Valentia due her status as a divine dragon if she was older, this was not the case. The journey out to sea and towards the unknown land was something too risky to point Naga's daughter towards. It was a shame that he would have to shoot down the girl's hopes, but alas, it was for her own good.

"Unfortunately, I can't let you go. We still don't know what lies on that continent." replied Gotoh, a response which greatly disappointed the dragon sicon.

"But I can help you and Mar-Mar out if I go!" argued Tiki. "I've grown stronger, even Ban-Ban and Xane said so!"

Although Tiki did not have a complete understanding of the words that she had said, it was something Xane had told her after one the "games" he had played with her. Being the curious girl that she was, she asked Xane what he had meant.

"To be strong is to improve yourself. In these "games" that we've played, you've grown sharper and quicker. Not only that, but you've gained greater precision and control too as well. That's what it means to be stronger Tiki, and I can unanimously say that this is the case for you."

The explanation Xane had given her was a vague one, and so he asked him again. This time though, Xane simply stated that if she wanted to see an example of strength, look no further than the Princey who was currently taking care of them. This confused Tiki once again as the man that Xane was referring to, Mar-Mar, was pretty much busy all the time. It was only thinking back to the conflict that Tiki finally understood what Xane had meant.

Mar-Mar was without a doubt, someone that could be called strong. He had taken his sword in hand, a sword that Tiki felt a great sense of both familiarity and fear from the blade. Wielding it, Mar-Mar had defeated the enemies that had sought to harm her, Ban-Ban, and all the others. As small as he was, Mar-Mar had even went up against the other scary dragons that she saw. With a speed and elegance that Tiki couldn't help but think was impossible from those as small as him, Mar-Mar had defeated them as well.

As a result of Mar-Mar's actions, she had the life that laid before her now, a life of fun and rest but more importantly, a life where she could see Ban-Ban, Xane, and the others she cared about express their joys or as Xane called it, hope. While this wasn't something Ban-Ban and the others never showed before, it was never as bright as that moment and it was then that Tiki had a better idea of what strength meant.

And right now, the chance for her to prove her strength laid before her. A journey to an unknown continent of mystery and wonder, to explore and look for a treasure that Mar-Mar and Gotoh needed, and to come back with it in order to bring a smile to those that she cared about. If so, how could she not take such an opportunity?

"Tell me then Tiki, what does it mean to get stronger?" asked Gotoh, curious as to where the dragon sicon had learned such a concept.

"To be stronger Gotoh...is to be able to help and protect those that you love...it's to be able to make those you love happy." muttered Tiki who struggled to put her thoughts into words. Nonetheless however, it seems that the girl was successful as Gotoh's expression had showed a reminiscent smile towards what she had said.

" _They are weak Gotoh, but they hold unlimited potential. In time, I'm sure they will even surpass us but until then, we must protect them."_

These were the words that Naga had told him long ago, and now that he reminded of them once more, Gotoh was a bit taken back. It seems that like mother and daughter were more similar than he anticipated. This however, only brought a bit of a smile to Gotoh whom was happy that Tiki could come to this conclusion. It seems that entrusting the girl to the Prince and the others was a good idea. However, this only further cemented his previous point; Gotoh would refuse to allow Tiki to endanger herself, even if he has to shield the girl from her own ideals.

"I see...Well then answer me this then." countered Gotoh. "How will you be able to protect those that you love if you lack the strength to protect even yourself?"

Although it hurt Gotoh to remind Tiki of things she would rather not remember, it was perhaps the only way to snap her out of her recklessness. After all, it had only been around a year or so ago when Gharnef had kidnapped the sicon despite Bantu's efforts, putting the manakete princess under his control in an effort to prevent anyone from getting their hands on the Starsphere. Gotoh was sure Tiki had grown stronger since then, but he doubted it was strong enough to prevent something similar from happening again, especially on a foreign continent he knew little about.

"I...I'll..." muttered Tiki. She struggled to come up with an answer for Gotoh as even she could understand what Gotoh was alluding to. Tiki had no told Gotoh about her "games" with Xane and Ban-Ban, with the latter bringing up the issue that Gotoh was currently dwelling on and teaching her how to avoid such a scenario from occuring again.

"I've...gotten stronger. Ban-Ban had taught me how to recognize the bad people now." replied Tiki as she finally came up with a rebuttal. "A-And if it isn't enough, I'll rely on my friends!"

Gotoh winced at the first part of Tiki's statement. It seems Xane and Bantu had left out some of their interactions with the dragon sicon. In addition, her second response did hold some truth. Even if Gotoh had given permission for Tiki to go to Valentia, he would probably send Xane to accompany her, while Prince Marth would do the same with someone else. Perhaps it would be beneficial if he tested the girl's claims...

"Hm...you claimed that you've gotten stronger, but I've yet to see proof of this. Could you possibly show me?" challenged Gotoh.

"U-Uh...I-I don't know how to..."

"I see...Well how about this then?" suggested Gotoh. "We'll go to a clearing and I'll test your capabilities as you are right now and in your dragon form."

"How will you d-do that?"

"Hmm...for the first try, I'll start by shooting some harmless projectiles towards you. I want you to dodge these projectiles while approaching me. If you can successfully tag me anywhere on my body, you pass."

"Ohh so it's like tag right? Xane played something similar with me!" replied the girl excitedly.

"You could say something like that..." said Gotoh who was now curious of the methods that Xane had used. "After that, I want you to transform with your dragonstone."

"Ehh? But Ban-Ban and Mar-Mar told me that I shouldn't transform in buildings like these..."

"Don't worry, you won't be doing that here or now, but after we are done with the first set of training. Are you ready Tiki?"

"Um...yes I think I am..."

With that, Gotoh led Tiki outside of the castle and past the villages that littered the fields. Tiki was already used to such a sight already, with some of the townspeople waving hello to her due to her relationship with Prince Marth and her contributions during the War of Shadows. It isn't long before they manage to reach a cleared field on the outskirts of the villages. It was a grassfield with a few trees surrounding the area, almost reminiscent of an arena. It was a place that Tiki had almost instantly recognized.

"Is this the place Gotoh?" asked Tiki eagerly. Although Gotoh had stated that this like the "games" that Xane had played with her, Gotoh's more serious demeanor was one that made Tiki a bit nervous.

"Yes, please get ready. Let me know when you are alright?"

"Okay!" replied Tiki. Within a few moments, she was a few meters away from Gotoh, but not too far. She didn't want to drag the "game" out after all.

"Alright I'm ready Gotoh!"

With that, Gotoh took out a tome and readied himself. Soon after, multiple spear like images appeared around the White Sage. With a wave of his hand, the spears flew towards Tiki, who seemed surprised by what was going on.

 _This wasn't what I was expecting!_

That was the thought that filled Tiki's head as she worked to dodge the projectiles that Gotoh had shot towards her. It was an unexpected situation for the girl even after Gotoh had given her some details of what this "game" was going to entail, but the sharp, javelin like shapes of those projectiles were not something she was going to risk getting hit by. Using the reactions that she had honed towards the end of the war and in her "games" with Xane, she quickly dodged out of the way and rushed towards the Sage.

Gotoh was pleasantly surprised at the agility that Tiki was showing, even in her manakete form. While they were in this state, manaketes were known to be remarkably weak when compared to humans, and it was due to this fact that humans in history had such an easy time abusing the manaketes. The speed that Tiki exhibited however, could be arguably at the same level as those of trained warriors. It seems that the girl's words hadn't been empty ones after all...

 _Hm...lets up the difficulty a bit then..._

With that, the speed of the spear like projectiles intensified, something which caught Tiki off guard initially, only barely managing to dodge the first shot. Seeing that Gotoh had decided to make the "game" harder, Tiki pouted.

"Hey! That's not fair! You never said you could make the spear things go faster!"

"Now now, this would hardly be a challenge to you if I kept things at the same pace." rebutted Gotoh. "It's only through difficulty that one's strengths can show themselves"

The last part of Gotoh's words were lost to Tiki as she continued to struggle in her attempt to close the gap between her and Gotoh. The spear like projectiles now numbered above her in the air, the amount never seeming to drop despite how many were dropped. This "game" was a bit more intense to her, much more than Xane's were, but she suppressed her urge to complain. Gotoh had stated that he was testing her strength though this "game", which meant that if she won, he would have to consider her "strong".

If so, that would mean that Gotoh would have to allow her to go to the new continent!

That was all the simple logic that Tiki needed to double her efforts. After all, if Gotoh had made his projectiles faster, then all she had to do was go faster! To most, this would be an obvious train of thought, but it was an effective one that fitted the girl's energetic personality and will perfectly. With a hurry, she managed to gain ground despite Gotoh's efforts. She ran in zigzag patterns and others that she perceived to be unpredictable in an effort to throw Gotoh off but her objective remained the same, she was going to tag him.

Gotoh's surprise remained when he saw Tiki's efforts in response to his actions, for she had surpassed his expectations two-fold now. Although the amount of projectiles he had conjured up and their speed were nowhere near his tome's limits due to their ethereal and harmless nature, this amount would have resulted in a nigh instant loss in this facade of a "game" for most. It felt strange to Gotoh that his plans to dissuade the girl were backfiring and he was half tempted to just overwhelm the girl and put an end to this.

His pride towards what was happening however, stopped him from doing this. It would seem that he would have to see this until the end. It wouldn't do the girl any right, especially with how much effort she was putting in now to simply end things unfairly after all. Not only that, but he was actually quite anxious at how this would enfold, as the result was still up in the air and he couldn't help but feel conflicted whether to hope the girl loses for her own good, or succeeds against the odds.

 _Lets see how this will play out..._

Tiki could see it, she could see her victory right before her. Her goal was only a short distance away from her, whom opted to solemnly watch the situation unfold while his ethereal projectiles rained down. She could tell that Gooh was not the slightest bit tired despite the amount of projectiles he conjured, which meant that she had to end this quick.

Although his attacks were relentless, Tiki still had enough stamina to slowly close the gap between the two thanks to her speed and unpredictability in terms of movement. Despite this however, Gotoh remained calm. Regardless of whether Tiki could dodge his attacks or not, she would tire out eventually and if she tried to close the distance, he could easily use the projectiles to block her approach with his blades. As far as he knew, this had turned into a battle of attribution, and one that would inevitably win out in his favor. Perhaps after this, she'll learn a lesson, even if it would be a bit harsh.

As she zigzagged around the field in an attempt to find an opening, Tiki pondered on what she would need to do next. Her first thought was to just get this over with and use her dragonstone, but considering that would just be cheating, she quickly clamped down on such thoughts. Looking up at the sky, she saw that the speed that the projectiles would shoot down on her were now more focused on speed rather than precision. Thankfully, while she was tired, she had enough energy to run forward...

 _Wait...If I'm faster than these spear thingys, can't I just rush forward?_

Once she realized how fast she was, this thought soon crossed the dragon sicion's head. It would be a gamble at best, but if she could catch Gotoh off guard and rush in, there was no doubt that she would be able to cover the distance and tag the old man. This however, would heavily depend on the first factor, and that was something even she could understand. Noting her movements however, she thought of a plan, one that she had seen Xane use on her.

 _She saw Xane whom seemed tired after all the running he had done. All she had to do was lunge forward, grab the white cloth that he had wrapped around his sleeve, and she would be the winner of this "game", that was the thought that filled her head. And so, without much hesitation, she did, but the boy's response however, surprised her. With a quick burst of speed which he had apparently been hiding from her, the boy slipped right past her, and showed a cheeky smile a distance away from Tiki, which infuriated the latter._

 _"Hey! How did you do that? I've been chasing you around and you seemed tired, but what did you just do?" asked the girl angrily._

 _"Haha well there's not way I'll expand all my energy in one go when I'm already ahead of you right?" replied Xane cheerfully. "So it's only normal that I would wait and see what you would try to do, and then turn things around with one fellow swoop!"_

 _To her dismay, the same cloth that she had wrapped around her wrist was no longer there, and now in Xane's hand as he waved it triumphantly. Contrary to her thoughts on the situation, her victory, it was the complete opposite and turned out to be nothing but bait._

It was initially a harsh moment for the girl and one which made her relentlessly hound on Xane at the time for his trickery, but thinking back to it now, it was a valuable lesson _._ That being to not only to never be overconfident towards one's situation despite how advantageous it may seem, and to consider all options available, at any given moment. And so, the very same plan that was formulated by her playmate had now presented itself in the girl's head as she ran around the sage in an effort to find an opening.

Tiki began to slow down and by doing so, she withheld some of her stamina which would be paramount to her plans. Slowing down, but not enough to a halt, she watched Gotoh's expression careful, all the while maintaining a seemingly desperate exterior. Now all she had to do was find the ideal moment and she would strike...

Gotoh had watched the battle unfold so far, and as he expected, the test at hand was near its end. Tiki had more than surprised him with her exceptional speed despite not using her dragonstone, allowing her to outpace his projectiles despite their speed. Her stamina was something exceptional too, as a good amount of time had already passed, where a conclusion would have normally already been reached within the timeframe in most cases. Despite this, the girl had limits, and he could easily see that based on her expression, her running pattern which was now more predictable, and her speed which while fast, was steadily slowing down compared to her initial burst. Luckily, the projectiles while appearing to be deadly, were harmless ones that could be stated to be little more than a trick of the light. Switching his tactics, her prepped multiple projectiles in a predicted direction. Once those projectiles "pierce" her, this test will be over and he can finally chastise the girl for her naivety and to an extent, arrogance, but also congratulate her progress.

The moment had presented itself. It was clear once she saw Gotoh's expression soften, something she remembered doing herself when what she was about to do was done to her. And so, she waited for the "final" attack, which she saw was a great number of projectiles descending upon her from all directions. If she truly was tired, if the expression she currently wore wasn't a calculated facade, this truly would have been the finale. Unfortunately for Gotoh however, this wasn't the case, and once the projectiles were little more than an arms length above her, she acted. With all the stamina that she had been saving, conserving for this move, she bursted away from her would be location, narrowly escaping the edges of the projectiles, but with a speed that surpassed everything she had shown so far. As she had predicted, Gotoh was caught off guard and with the tip of her fingers, she brushes against the sage's robes.

When the girl had seemingly accepted her defeat, Gotoh was glad. To be humble in not only victory, but defeat as well was an important concept to him after all, and he was glad that Tiki had a grasp of it despite her age. This was his first thought, which was almost immediately dissipated as the girl suddenly moved with speeds exceeding what he has seen so far. The girl rushed towards him, narrowly dodging the now dissipated projectiles that would have resulted in her defeat. In his surprise at the young girl's actions, Gotoh's actions slowed at the most decisive moment. By the time he had conjured up the projectiles to counteract this, the girl had reached him, her hands brushing along his robes before falling to his side.

"Looks like I win Gotoh!" exclaimed Tiki as she got back up. It was a desperate gamble that left her all but exhausted, but it had paid off. Victory in this "game" was hers, and it only felt all the more greater with her efforts.

"...I'm surprised, even a bit shocked, to be honest. but nonetheless, I concede this round to you." replied Gotoh. "I assume Xane was the one that showed you something like this?"

"Mm yea...he did the same thing against me before. It's not fair but I had to use it if I wanted to win."

"I see...well your efforts were not in vain. Let me help you out."

With his magic, Gotoh soon cleared the girl's clothes of the dirt and dust that had stained them during the test and handed her a potion. Tiki hastily took it in response, and within a few moments, she was back to the state before the test had started. Since she had done the unexpected, Gotoh felt that he should at least do this much. Regardless, even if Tiki had exceeded his expectations in her manakete form, this did not necessarily mean she would do the same with her draconic state.

"Thanks Gotoh! I feel a lot better now. So can I help you guys out and go to Valentia now? Can I? Can I?"

"Patience Tiki, if you remember my words, I said that I would test your capabilities in both human form and dragon form. Your success here was simply the first part."

"Aww..." Tiki was disappointed hearing Gotoh's words, but this would not be enough to dissuade her. "Well I feel better now, I'm ready!"

"This test will be harder Tiki, and it may be a bit painful too. Are you still willing to do this?" asked Gotoh cautiously, who quickly received a nod despite the dangers he had stated.

Tiki then took out her Dragonstone, one that was unique to her and most likely her alone, a Divinestone. With a flash, where once stood a young female manakete was now a majestic dragon. It had marvelous scales of a lustrous golden color and feathers of pure white whose beauty would put most birds to shame. With horns on top of the dragon's head more resembled a crown and protruding wings that resembled a royal mantle, it was a creature whose very appearance demanded respect.

This was the splendor that humans had spoken about in myths, acknowledged and respected by it's other kin as well, the being that now stood before Gotoh was the apex of dragonkind, a full fledged divine dragon. Although Gotoh had lost access to his draconic form, the majesty of his kind was not forgotten to him. Despite his intimate knowledge on the divine dragons, Gotoh could see that Tiki's dragon form was exceptional even among divine dragons. This was to be expected after all, as Tiki was the daughter of the strongest among the divine dragons, Naga.

When Gotoh kept these thoughts in mind, he wondered if he even needed to test Tiki in regards to her dragon form. She had proven her strength many times during the war, such as her time spent guarding the Fane of Raman when she was under Gharnef's thrall, and later on when she fought by Prince Marth's side. He had not even expected the girl to pass the first stage of his test, which he now owed to his ignorance over the girl's recent actions, which was really the only thing he was worried about in regards to the girl's growth. Nonetheless, Gotoh after a bit of consideration, opted continue to go through with the test in order to fulfill his obligations. He had promised the girl a test after all, and what kind of sage would he did not follow things through?

"Tiki, first let's test your communication skills." said Gotoh as he thought of how to start. "While you're in your dragon form, speak to me. Let's see... tell me, how was your day?"

" _ **Oh okay!** **M** **y day was the same as always...although it was a bit boring, but that changed when I heard you and Mar-Mar talk about Valenteena!"**_ responded Tiki rather easily, much to Gotoh's surprise.

Although her perspective was still a tad bit fuzzy when in her dragon form, Tiki felt that she was used to it. This was mostly thanks to Ban-Ban's help after he had freed her from Gharnef's control, which he did in hopes that something similar wouldn't happen again. And more recently at Xane's insistence, she had used her dragon form more often as well in their "games", she had gained better control over her actions, which also had the added benefit of eliminating nearly all of her bad dreams as well.

" ** _Uh Gotoh? Did I do something wrong? Do you need me to say anything else?"_** asked Tiki curiously, as she saw Gotoh, who was a bit taken aback at her words.

"Hmm? Ah no, you did good, my apologies." replied Gotoh after his initial surprise. "I was just surprised at your progress so far Tiki. Let's move on to the next step."

Gotoh's words were calm but what he felt was anything but that. Newborn dragons, were naturally energetic with some outlier cases being almost feral due to their lack of experience with their natural impulses and instincts. This would only intensify with the dragon's strength, which was why Naga had opted to put Tiki to sleep rather than leave her be. To have reached the extent of being able to converse in human tongue when he had simply expected her to respond in dragon tongue was usually beyond the reach of most younglings, and it showed at least a moderate amount of control over their dragon forms and by extension, their instincts and impulses.

"I wish to test your durability for myself" The Sage then reached into his robe, putting away the tome that he had used earlier and taking a new one out in its place.

"Tiki, when I explained that this stage of the test may potentially be a bit painful, I wasn't lying. To go where you want to go, it will most certainly not be a painless journey. Are you sure you want to do this?"

 _ **"Y-Yes!"**_

"Very well then." replied Gotoh. "What I plan to do is simply test your strength, your speed, and your control. It will be similar to our previous "game" as I will be using magic again, but only thrice this time. I will request that you dodge these attacks but endure at least one strike and if you can manage this without faltering, then it is your victory. "

 _ **"Ah alright! I'm ready Gotoh!"**_

With a quiet nod towards Tiki, Gotoh prepared his strike. The tome that he would use was Thoron, a efficient and quick utilization of thunder magic that was particularly effective at taking down specific targets with high precision and speed. It was also a spell that he felt would give Tiki the most difficulty without outright endangering her life, although he had no doubt that if she did fail in dodging or defending against the spell, it would hurt. Nonetheless, he would largely refrain from holding back this time around and if she could manage regardless, then he would reevaluate his decision.

"Then here is strike number one!" With simply a wave of his hand, Thoron was used and in an instant right after he finished speaking, a line of thunder magic was shot towards Tiki.

 ** _"A-Ah...!"_**

Although she heard Gotoh's words, little could prepare Tiki for the magic that was shot at her. One moment she was watching Gotoh and the next she was saw a yellow beam of sorts shot at her. Beyond anything, the attack was fast, much faster than she remembered Marth and even the projectiles that Gotoh had used earlier. In addition, after the attack was done, she was assaulted with pain. Her body threatened to stagger but she forcefully stopped herself from doing so. It was not so painful that she could not bear with it, but it still hurt nonetheless.

"You've done well to endure the first attack. if you can firm face two more, it is your win."

Hearing these words, Tiki cautiously watched Gotoh for any signs of casting. She had not expected the spell from before to be as quick and painful as the attack she received, but having endured it once, she now knew better. With her body and mind now alert, she would not falter. She would win this "game", she had to!

"Strike number two!" Once more, the Thoron spell was fired with a wave of Gotoh's hands. Unlike previously however, the dragon scion was ready.

Thanks to the superior senses that a dragon held, which was only further bolstered thanks to Tiki's current wariness, she had noticed every detail of the spell as it fired. Although her body was a lot bigger than it was while she was in her manakete form, her speed had not decreased at all. Once Gotoh had finished casting the spell, she had already prepared her next move.

Thoron, while an extremely effective single target spell thanks to its speed, accuracy, and might, it lacked the utility in casting that other similar spells held. When casted, it would simply be a single lined strike, but if used effectively, a decisive one. Against foes that were prepared however, its effectiveness would only decrease. This was especially evident, when the target was a now highly alert Divine Dragon. With a simple sidestep, Tiki easily moved out of the spell's way, the beam harmlessly passing to her right side and into the forest before dissipating, striking a hole through multiple trees in the process.

 _After only watching me cast the spell once...impressive...  
_

"Congratulations on avoiding the second attack." stated Gotoh who clapped. It was a genuine compliment, as the demonstration that Tiki had shown him today was impressive and far exceeded his expectations. Regardless of the outcome of this test, he would make sure to further the girl's talents once given the chance.

 _ **"T-Thank You!"**_ replied Tiki politely, although she was still a bit anxious after barely dodging the attack.

Regardless of how narrowly she had avoided the attack however, Tiki had gained a bit of confidence after her last move. Gotoh's attacks were strong and fast, with the damaged trees that stood behind her along with the pain that she had suffered before attesting to that. She had no doubt that Gotoh's spell would have been a lot more dangerous if she was in her manakete form, but thanks to the enhancements and toughness that her dragon form granted her, she was confident she could deal with a third cast of the same spell. And she would do so to prove to Gotoh that she was more than capable of helping Marth and the others.

 _ **"Alright Gotoh, I'm ready!"**_

"Very well then Tiki. This is the final spell. Know that whatever the outcome of this test is, I am proud of the progress that you have made so far."

In truth, Gotoh having taken into account Tiki's still unfinished development, had held back when he had casted Thoron the first two times. Each casting was supposed to be fast enough that she would be unable to dodge, and powerful enough that it would push her off balance, painfully if need be. This would be the level of strength that most experienced mages would have, and it was meant as a way to show the girl her faults. Having seen that she was not only able to endure the spell, but see and dodge it too as well, Gotoh felt that his previous concerns were now moot.

 _Have I been holding back too much...? No...it seems that she simply has gotten that much better. Naga...if you've returned and are watching this right now, I hope you are proud. Your little girl has already exceeded my expectations already. At this point, all I can really critique is her lacks is experience. There is but only one way to address the problem of experience and I know what I am I about to do will be for her sake, but I am hesitant nonetheless..._

 _No...I shouldn't let my thoughts cloud my judgement. The way to determine the correct course is already before me, I simply just have to do it. Tiki...I apologize in advance, but this will hurt. I can only hope that you will endure."_

As Gotoh began casting the spell once more, he drew out more of the tome's power, while adding his own strength to it too as well. The circles of magic that surrounded him whirled with power in response. This casting of Thoron would be faster, the energies of the spell more intense compared to the previous two, and it would be the spell that would be the decide the outcome of this test.

In the next moment, a beam of energy was fired towards the divine dragon once more. This attack however, differed greatly in power compared to the others. As Gotoh had partially put his own energy into the spell, a process which few knew about in Archanea, it's power and speed had far exceeded the ones before it.

From the intensity of the Thoron's casting, which was much more intense this time, Tiki knew that while this was the same spell as the others, it would be far different. Putting her senses on alert, she readied herself to meet the attack, regardless of the threat it posed. This spell would be Gotoh's final one for the test, and she would refuse to fail at this point. While dodging it was an option, she felt that would be an outcome that neither her or Gotoh would be satisfied with. And so, she would commit herself to her only other option; she would deflect it.

Once the spell was fired however, fear was the first feeling that came to her mind. Before any other thoughts entered however, the beam was already upon her, and with it pain which exceeded anything she had felt so far. This Thoron was too fast, fully dodging it was beyond her capabilities and it was only due to her sheer instinct that she was able raise her arms in time to meet the spell. The energies of the spell burned at her scales and the flesh which rested under them, while the force of it pushed her a good distance back.

 _ **"Argh...ahh...!"**_

As she desperately tried to defend against the spell, the desire to pass out, or at the very least, allow the spell to throw her balance off was overwhelming. It was a pain that was not only unbearable, but completely foreign to her too as well. From the definitions of "pain" that Ban-Ban and Xantu had taught her, she had experienced it in many different forms. Among these was the pain of loneliness, one that she had suffered in her time back at the Temple of Ice, but physical pain was one that was unknown to her dragon form. And so, her instincts pushed her, giving her little choice in what to do next.

Her first and most obvious option was to allow the attack to run its course, that is, to accept what she felt was her limitations and fall here. To many, this would have been the logical thing to do. If they were to fail today, so long as their will remained, there was always next time. This however, was an option that Tiki could not accept. She knew that she had to succeed, she had to prove herself not only to Gotoh, but to Mar-Mar, Ban-Ban, Xane, and to everyone else that she was strong.

Although Tiki wouldn't know at the time, these thoughts were the manifestations of something much more primal within her. Dragons were exalted existences that were known for their pride, so much so that many would consider it even more important than their own lives. This was the bane that ushered in the death throes of the Earth Dragons, and was one of the main reasons why Naga was respected as much as she was hated by her kin. The knowledge that a dragon as powerful as her to swallow her pride, her essence, the driving force that all dragonkin possessed, if it meant the greater good was a terrifying concept in itself.

The ability to subvert a concept such as pride within a dragon was no easy feat, nor was it encouraged as it held no immediate benefits for the amount of effort that was needed. Over time however, a dragon that has learnt to control it's pride would gain the ability to direct that primal urge towards whatever they wished. Perhaps to humans, this may not seem that big of a deal, but a dragon's pride was fundamentally different from that of humans, it was dominant, it was persistent, and most of all, it was relentless.

Unbeknownst to her mind, Tiki had begun to tap into this state of mind as she endured the attack. A dragon's pride held a force that was unrivaled, for not even the death would be enough to deter a dragon from it's goal, once it's pride is set. And so, Tiki unconsciously guided that pride, linking it to her definition of "strength" and thus, the situation at hand.

 _ **"Agh...I...won't...lose...!"**_

Despite the pain, which only seemed to worsen, Tiki held her ground, and began to force back the attack. Her scales and skin burned as the spell's energy was relentless, but this did not matter to the girl. What did matter however, was the task at hand. With one step, two steps, and slowly a third step, she began to push the spell back. Her arms endured despite the intensity of the spell, and soon, she began to regain the footing she had almost lost.

With the body and might of a juvenile Divine Dragon and a pride which demanded her victory, Tiki was able to withstand a spell casted by who was arguably the strongest mage that was currently on Archanea. This however, was temporary, and if Tiki remained in this stalemate, it would be her will and her body which would fall first. Knowing this, Tiki channeled the rest of her remaining stamina and will into the only thing she could do to end this. With a mighty heave, she began to redirect the direction of the spell.

 _This is impossible, she isn't supposed to be able to block a spell of this level! This isn't good, even if she manages to do what I think she's doing, she won't be able to get out of this unharmed! How foolish...!_

By all means, the thoughts that flowed through Gotoh's head was justified. While a spell of the caliber he was casting would do little to a fully matured Mage or Divine Dragon, the girl before him was neither of the two. Yet she was managing to force the attack back, with a strength and resilience that Gotoh knew was only temporary. When he felt that he had to cancel the spell, he caught a glimpse of the eyes of the dragon before him. Accompanying it, was the strength said dragon held, who was now on the verge of completely forcing his spell off it's course. Such an intense gaze was enough to distract Gotoh from his plan, and by the time he regained his senses, she had done it.

With all of her might and will, Tiki had forcefully diverted the Thoron spell to her right. Following that, the rest of the attack shot harmlessly past her into the sidelines before the attack dissipated thanks to Gotoh's efforts.

She had won.

That was a simple fact, one that made the dragon produce an expression akin to a smile despite the effort that was needed to succeed. The scales that were on the dragon's limbs were burnt with a blackened hue, which contrasted the silver luster they once had. Blood creeped from beneath the scales, a sign of damage of the flesh that was meant to be protected. The feathers which once adorned the divine dragon's chest, were also blacked as well, albeit less than the damage on her arms. Although the dragon held an expression of bliss, it was a strained and tiring one, giving it a look that could be seen as unbefitting of a dragon with her prestige.

This did not last long however, as the Tiki's feeble cling to consciousness had finally faded, resulting in her transformation back to her manakete form, which collapsed onto the ground. The damage that she had acquired reflected themselves onto her new form through similarly burnt limbs and blackened skin. The scene itself had left Gotoh stunned.

"Tiki!" shouted Gotoh. Only after seeing the girl now did he realize he had made a mistake. He hurried over in an effort to heal the girl of her wounds, wounds which were of his own doing.

Upon inspections of the burns that she had suffered, he was relieved that they were not as bad as they had initially appeared. The scales that adorned her limbs had done their job, having taken the brunt of the heat and damage that Tiki would have otherwise sustained. That was not a problem, as the scales would heal themselves independently, regardless of his actions. With a stave for healing on one hand and a voluntary on the other, Gotoh quickly worked to treat the girl's wounds.

The voluntary did it's job, and it combined with the healing power of Gotoh's stave and a superior healing factor that dragons had compared to humans, the burns that adorned the girl's limbs slowly healed before his eyes. The bleeding stopped and the once swollen skin slowly healed itself, with skin regrowing in the progress. After a few minutes of treatment, the only significant evidence of her previous actions were the slight reddish hue that presented itself on the worst areas of the burn. These scars likely wouldn't be permanent, and in a few short mortal years, she would be fine.

As the girl's pain subsided along with her previous injuries, Tiki slowly stirred. Her expression was more akin to someone who had woken up from a long sleep than someone who had just went through a great ordeal. Seeing this, Gotoh's expression relaxed, and his worries turned into satisfaction.

"Ah...Gotoh...I did well didn't I?" mused the girl slowly. Up until the very last moment, Tiki had been fully aware of her actions, and the fact that she had awakened without any pain so soon made her suspect that she had won.

"Yes...yes you did well." Gotoh responded. At the moment he was still at a loss of words for what had taken place, but the pride he still had as a member of dragonkin echoed loud and clear within him.

As a mage, he was confident in his abilities, having been one of the main figures responsible for teaching humans magic in the first place. And since then, his skill with magic has only increased, especially after he discarded his dragonstone. In addition, his status as a divine dragon albeit without his draconic form only further bolstered his might and skill in the arcane arts.

In truth, the main reason why tomes were so widely used in Archanea as a medium and supplier of magical energy was because of the naturally high amount of life force it took to cast a spell. This was not a problem for dragons originally, due to their lifespan and affinity for magic, but when Naga had instructed Gotoh and the others to pass this skill to humans, it proved too much for many to handle. Thus, Gotoh and others, specifically some of the magic dragons, invented the usage of tomes to alleviate this burden a little.

Today however, the little pride he had remaining as a divine dragon had flared at the expense of the pride he had as a mage. When he saw that Tiki, an adolescent dragon, was able to face a spell from someone of his caliber despite having supplied said spell with magical energy from both the tome that housed it and his own reserves. He knew that other than the magic dragons whom wielded an extremely high resistance against magic, even dragons would be hard-pressed to take his attack head on like that. Thus, Tiki's feat not only managed to solidified the power and potential that she held as an individual, but of divine dragons as a whole.

"Hey Gotoh..." asked Tiki softly, which snapped Gotoh out of his thoughts. "So...since I won, can I go...?"

Hearing this, Gotoh was once again, reminded of the full situation at hand, one which was ultimately of his own design. Realizing this, Gotoh sighed as he was now forced to confront the issue. The whole point of these tests was to dissuade Tiki from going, but that was now for naught. As he looked at the girl's inquisitive expression, he thought about a way to resolve the issue at hand which would hopefully satisfy both him and Tiki.

After a few moments of thinking, he had finally come up with an answer.

"Hmm...now that you've passed, I can't exactly say no right?" admitted the sage, something which made the girl almost let out a cry of joy, only to be stopped as Gotoh continued speaking. "But, that does not mean Prince Ma-I mean Mar-Mar, Ban-Ban, and Xane will approve of it."

"Aww, you never said that before! So what will I do now?"

"I'll talk to them and see what they think." replied Gotoh. "If they are fine with it, then we'll proceed from there. Rest assured, I'll let you know once a decision has been made.

He knew that this was only a temporary resolution, and one that he was confident the others wouldn't want to hear about. Nonetheless, this whole situation was his fault, and he would take responsibility for it. This was the least he could do after all...

"Okay...I don't want to get Mar-Mar and the others mad at me...but please let me know soon!" Gotoh knew that these words were the complete opposite of the now sulking girl's mood but regardless, this was the best response that Gotoh could have hoped for.

"Umm, Gotoh, I'm feeling pretty hungry right now. Mind if I get something to eat?"

"That would be fine...Might I suggest a restaurant? The food there is pretty good. " a sigh of relief filled Gotoh. Hopefully, this would divert the girl's attention away from the current topic. For now though, he was hungry too as well, and his plans for the girl could wait until after the meal.

* * *

True to his promise, Gotoh had sought to find a way to consider Tiki's proposals, and to his surprise, it had been as successful as it could be. While there was absolutely no way that he would be willing to let the girl wander off into unknown territory alone, it seemed as if Tiki was favored by fate. After a bit of consolation with Bantu and Xane, he was rather surprised to find out that they were willing to accompany the girl if needed. With these immediate issues taken care of, he now sat in a seat at a soon to be negotiation table, courtesy of Prince and soon to be King Marth.

This was a meeting that he had arranged, as Gotoh was not willing to send Tiki anywhere in good faith without letting Marth know, as he clearly cared for the girl. The other he invited were Bantu, Xane, Tiki, and surprisingly, Minerva. Originally, he would have only invited the first three due to their involvement, but after seeing Minerva's current plight, he saw that there was an opportunity to possibly better the current relationship that the city-state Dolhr had with Macedon.

The relationship between the two kingdoms had always been a tense one, especially given the history that Macedon had under Dolhr. It was only thanks to his and Minerva's efforts, along with support from Prince Marth and the Archanean League, that the situation between the two kingdoms were at the very least, peaceful. However, as of last week, Est of the Whitwings was kidnapped by a band of pirates who claimed to be underlings of someone named Grieth.

There were initially some rumors that this was just a proxy move made by Dolhr in an attempt to gain leverage against Macedon, but these were quickly proven wrong after investigation on the part of the other two Whitewings, who traced the band of pirates and their leader back to the southern shores of Valentia. In an attempt to rectify the situation, Gotoh had invited Minerva to his meeting in an effort to aid her, hoping that this would help towards solidifying the relationships between the two kingdoms.

"Ah Gotoh, sorry for making you wait. I had some matters to address to before coming here." Marth entered the room and quickly took the nearest seat. Judging from his expression, it seemed he was happy to be here rather than whatever else he had planned.

"There's no problem. I'm afraid our other guests haven't arrived yet either."

"Ah, Minerva already arrived, she should be on her way to this room now. As for Xane and the others however-" before Marth could finish his sentence, the second entrance doors swung open and familiar faces walked in.

"My apologies for the delay Prince Marth, Elder Gotoh. I had gotten a little bit lost, but it seems that a friend of yours helped me." Minerva was the first to enter, although she was not alone.

"Hey Princy! And you too Gotoh!" said an all too familiar voice. As if on point, Xane soon entered after Minerva, wearing a wide grin across his face. "On my way here, I saw this lovely lady here seemed to be lost, so I decided to guide her here. Oh, and here comes everyone else now!"

"Hello Mar-Mar, Gotoh, and...uhh...what was your name again?" Tiki ran in on que, with Bantu slowly trying to catch up. The girl's excited expression soon turned to nervousness as she looked up at the crimson armored lady.

"M-My apologies Prince Marth, Elder Gotoh, Tiki ran ahead of me as soon as she saw the Prince." With a gentle gesture, the old manekte got the dragon sicon's attention with a light tap. "Tiki! You shouldn't run in the castle halls like that, especially during meetings like these."

"Aww okay...I'm sorry Mar-Mar, Gotoh, and..."

"You may call me Minerva." the red dragoon added.

"Ah okay! Well, I'm sorry to you too as well, Minerva!" finished Tiki hastily.

"Elder Gotoh, Elder Bantu, you've raised a good child." responded Minerva, affectionately patting the girl's head. "She reminds me of myself back when I was young. If anything, she's got spunk."

Of course, personality was probably the only thing she had in common with the dragon princess back then. Having personally saw the girl's prowess in battle, one of the strongest members of her kind. If she had that sort of power as a child then maybe...

Minerva quickly suppressed these thoughts, and decided to get back to the issue at hand. While she had no particular resentments or grievances towards the current Dolhr Kingdom that shared borders with Macedon, she knew this wasn't the case with some of the populace. Among them, some still harbored resentment for the Dolhr Empire's first reign over them not as a fellow kingdom, but as a conqueror would over their colonies.

This particular resentment followed by the recent resurgence of the Dolhr Kingdom, albeit under a different leader and monitored by the majority of the Archeanean League, had only increased, fueled mostly by rumors and fears. They had only gotten worse once it was known to the public that Est had been kidnapped, but luckily did not escalate into any violence or opposition before more details could be revealed.

In addition, it seems Gotoh had also seen the situation and would offer his support, which was why she was currently here. If the White Sage played his cards right, then she would not only be able to get Est back in one piece, but hopefully calm the populace and forge a stronger and more favorable relationship with their draconic neighbors.

It was only after everything settled down that all parties finally sat down at the table. The situation was as hopeful as it was puzzling, as they had all arrived at Gotoh's rather ambiguous request. Other than the possible beneficial outcomes that could occur through his proposal, Gotoh had left everything else out, stating that he wouldn't reveal any more details until they arrived here.

Nonetheless, Marth and Minerva did not hold any suspicions towards the sage. In Minerva's case, she believed that if he had any ulterior motives, Gotoh could have decisively acted upon them already, while undoubtedly retaining plausible deniability in the process. Marth however, genuinely believed that Gotoh had an important reason for doing this. It wasn't the first time the sage held secrets from him, but in all those cases, he turned out to have one good reason or another for doing so.

And so, there was little to no suspicion overall, which left the two leaders puzzled. It wasn't until an awkward moment of silence occured that Marth had finally decided to speak up.

"So Gotoh, you had something you wanted to tell us about right?" asked Marth curiously. "Since you mentioned the Starsphere, I'm assuming this will have something to do with Valentia?"

"Hm...I do not know much about the Starsphere that Prince Marth is talking about." Minerva interjected. "But I will have to agree with Marth on his assumption. You claimed that you would offer a possible solution to my current situation, but I have yet to hear of any details. I would suggest that you tell me everything I need to know, lest this meeting be a waste of time for all of us."

"My apologies for the secrecy, I requested that you two come in person because I do not believe...you would have reacted if I had went into more detail about my plans." admitted Gotoh.

"Hm...I have faith in you Gotoh, but please, do tell us in detail what you are suggesting. After all, we won't know what we think about it until we hear it."

"Alright alright...do you remember the conversation we had a while ago?" Marth nodded in return. "Good, Lady Minerva, my proposal right now is to send a party by ship to Valentia."

"There are a few issues that I few would be relevant to bring up in regards to your plan, but do continue..."

"I have an idea of what those are, and there should be a way to solve it. But anyways, my proposal is for your Whitewings to join this party. In addition, I will also ask that Tiki be allowed to go as well."

"Gotoh...Are you serious?" asked Marth, his previous belief in the Prince now giving rise to doubt. "She's a child...I think we can both believe that it would be immoral to send her off like that right?"

"I second Prince Marth's point." added Minerva. "While I'm sure the Whitewings themselves would be willing to go on this...expedition...I don't think it would be a good idea to bring the girl along too."

While Minerva held her a different perspective regarding Tiki's strength, the child was still no doubt just that, a child. Someone with a mentality as young as her shouldn't be exposed to the dangers she no doubt believed would await them in Valentia. While there had always been a pirate problem to some extent, but if some brigand held so much power in Valentia that they could extend their influence to Archanean waters...that wasn't a good sign to say the least.

Instances where the likes of pirates and brigands were able to gain that much power were rare, and this was because of the surrounding kingdoms. Pirate and Brigand activity would negatively disrupt commerce and trade, which meant that the kingdoms in question would invest a great deal of effort in curbing if not outright crushing any potential influence that they could gain.

Since the possibility of there being a 'Pirate King' was high, it meant that the surrounding kingdoms within Valentia weren't doing their job. This along with the already present rumors about there being a war on the continent only bolstered the potential dangers that would await them. Still, Est's recovery was necessary, and she was sure that Palla and Catria would be willing to go the ends of the earth, much less a foreign continent if it meant recovering their sister and comrade.

"Personally Gotoh, I am fine with your plan so long as the rest of the details are clear and a few conditions are set." Minerva explained. While she was the one who she believed had the most incentive of coming here, she would push for a plan that was as favorable for Macedon as possible.

"While I can understand that Tiki's strength is...exceptional, I do not think the people I intend to send would be able to adequately care for her in such an environment. In the worse case scenario, she might even hinder the operation."

"Indeed, also how would we provide the resources for such an operation? added Marth as well. "It would take almost two week's time to get there, assuming no issues arise. We would need proper sustenance for the voyagers, a crew, as well as a ship."

"Please, do allow me to explain." countered Gotoh. "First, I would hardly be willing to hoist the complete responsibility of a child to your retainers Lady Minerva. The reason why Xane and Bantu are here today is because they will be accompanying her as my representatives should the two of you approve of this plan."

"Second, with the help of my magic and the resources that Macedon, Dolhr, and Altea could provide together, a mighty vessel could be built within a month's time. Crew can also be selected in the process as well."

"And finally, I myself am not that willing to send the girl towards the unknown, regardless of supervision. Tiki would have to go however, if it means meeting up with the Divine Dragon siblings and negotiating with them. She is the only Divine Dragon that I know of left who is capable of transforming. She along with Bantu and Xane will serve as representatives of the manaketes that reside here."

"Hm the Divine Dragon siblings? I've yet to hear of them until now." asked Minerva inquisitively. Gotoh didn't seem like the type to falsify information, but she would have to cross reference to make sure. "Prince Marth, is there anything you know on the subject?"

Letting out a sigh, Marth decided to fully disclose the information that Gotoh had shared with him about Valentia, and a brief history of what they believed were the continent's progenitors.

Although her country's origins left her and most of its inhabitants distasteful towards the idea of dragons ruling over humans, the fact that it had been done before was one that Minerva and her people were fully aware of. This was also in addition to her personal observations of the powers manaketes held when they transformed. And so, when Marth told her that two banished Divine Dragons managed to gain control over an entire foreign continent and fostering their own civilizations in the process, she found herself not as skeptic towards the idea as she initially thought she would be.

However, just because the idea itself was plausible didn't necessarily mean it was true.

"If the Divine Dragons...Duma and Mila...if they truly were the progenitors of the civilizations that reside in Valentia...then I have only more confirmation that any potential negotiations won't happen."

"Hm? Any why do you say that?"

"Huh? I thought it was obvious." stated Minerva. "If these sibling dragons really did still reside in Valentia, and they truly were as powerful as you say they are...then how can you explain the current situation in their waters?"

Hearing this, both Marth and Gotoh realized the situation that was the 'elephant in the room'. Indeed, if Duma and Mila were both alive and well, they would have put a stop to any pirate or brigand activity even faster than the strongest of human civilizations. Yet the fact that they didn't would put their status and power into question, something that Gotoh knew the pride of dragons would refuse to accept. So that meant that another question had to be asked, what could have happened to the two dragons that they were unable to attend to the very civilizations that they themselves created?

Instantly, Gotoh thought of two possible scenarios, and neither of them were good. The first scenario was that humans who were discontent with Duma and Mila's rule had managed to get their hands on the Falchion that Naga had forged for the siblings. In the process, a wielder that was deemed worthy by the blade took up arms, and were currently fighting the two siblings in a war of sorts if not already slain them.

While it was a scenario that was unlikely, Gotoh could not disregard it completely. If this was the case and the humanity that resided there held a similar fear and hatred for dragons and manaketes as past humans of Archanea did, the result wouldn't be good...

The second scenario however, was much more likely. Naga's prophecy for the siblings had finally come true, the sibling dragons had gone mad. If this was the case, it would easily be understandable why neither them nor the humans there were addressing the growing brigand and pirate problem. It was likely that the humans were busy fighting against the siblings themselves, or worse, fighting each other under the dominion of feral dragons who could care less about their lives.

While the diplomatic circumstances in the second scenario were better than the first, the idea of needing to face down two divine dragons, and feral ones at that, was not a good one at all. Feral Dragons were typically unpredictable monsters of great strength, and in the cases of older and more powerful dragons, there were those that also managed to retain an animalistic cunning, which would make them all the more dangerous.

Still, none of this was guaranteed, and there could even be a chance that the Divine Dragon siblings had already passed on, leaving their civilizations to their successors. While Gotoh didn't like to admit it, this was the least likely but best case scenario. With Tiki and Xane being among the same clan as the dragons that propagated their civilization, diplomatic matters would hopefully be more easy to go through and danger would be minimalized.

Speculation aside, what little that they did know had to addressed. Only time could tell how circumstances will turn out, but in the meantime, measures could be taken to ensure that the voyagers's safety, during the trip and at the destination.

"You raise a good point, Lady Minerva." admitted Gotoh. "However, it is precisely because the circumstances are as unpredictable as they are that I am even willing to ask Tiki to go."

"We are currently still on a road of recovery, Prince Marth, Lady Minerva. And so, no country here has the capability of a great amount of troops that we could request to help us. This is why I intend for Tiki and a few others to go. The only viable equalizer we have for the situation is her, you two should be fully aware of that."

"Gotoh please...she's still just a child...!"

Hearing the words that Gotoh had said, Marth gritted his teeth in frustration and anger. He knew that the sage had a point, but the idea of needing to ask a little girl to fight not once, but twice was something that the Prince's conscious and morals could not approve of.

"Hey Mar-Mar, Gotoh, I know that you two are speaking...but could I possibly say something?" interjected Tiki politely. Both Marth and Gotoh approved, with the former hoping that she could understand what they were discussing entailed for her.

"So um Mar-Mar, I know you're probably mad at Gotoh...but the idea of going to V-Valentia, that was my idea." confessed Tiki.

"Tiki...why would you say such a thing?" said Marth, who was visibly shocked. "Is there something about your current life that you don't like...? The war you just went through...if you go to Valentia, I won't be able to guarantee your safety."

"I just wanted to help you Mar-Mar!" replied Tiki boldly. "Ban-Ban and Xane told me that you've done a lot for me...if it wasn't for you, I may not have ever seen Ban-Ban again. You've also introduced me to new friends, and even allowed me to stay in your home...And so, when I heard that you needed to get some items from Valentia but wasn't able to, I thought that this was a chance for me to help!"

Marth was surprised by these words and every fiber of his being wanted to respond with something, but he could not refute any of the girl's points. To him, the things that he had done to help the girl was just what he had thought to be the right thing to do. In harsh times such as during war, it was only all the more needed.

"Tiki...I won't ask for anything in return for the help I've given you. In fact, if there was anything I could ask, it would be for you to live out your life in bliss." rebutted Marth. "And the furthest from that would be to go to unknown territory with dangers possibly even greater than the war we fought against Medeus!"

While Marth was usually a calm and collected person, but when he had gave Tiki his final statement, it held a sternness to it that few would expect the Prince to show. Gotoh saw that Tiki wanted to say something, but she was quite hesitant now. Gotoh felt that he should interject but to his surprise, Bantu and Xane interjected.

"With all due respect Prince Marth, I understand where you are coming from, and even with my old body, I share the same emotions you have right now." admitted Bantu sadly. "But I'm afraid I will have to disagree with you."

Throughout the war and past it, Marth had respect for the old manakete, being one of the first of his kind that he had knowingly met. He had seen the amount of care Bantu had towards Tiki, even pledging his services as a fire dragon albeit an old one, in exchange for Marth to help him look for Tiki, whom was lost at the time. Since then, he was grateful to Bantu, having decided to stay and help even after Marth had fulfilled his end of the deal.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Bantu's character was the main catalyst that would cause a shift from what was Marth's naive and somewhat resentful views on manaketes into the more neutral stance he had now. Bantu's views on the issue was the most surprising to him so far, especially since he had personally seen the love that the old manakete had towards Tiki and the fact that he was her caretaker for so long that Tiki saw him as a sort of father figure.

"Before you voice your questions, please, let me clarify my stance." said Bantu, who was cautious as to what to say next. "I've been with Tiki for a long time now, and you probably haven't seen it yet Prince Marth, but the girl has a craving to learn and explore."

"Of course, we can't let such a desire roam completely free, but we cannot fully restrict it either. While the environment she wants to go to is...questionable at best, I can at least respect her intent. And so, as her caretaker, I'll do everything I can to help her, even if it means accompanying her to what may be another war."

"I think you should know this already Princey, but if she just stays here, she'll be safe, but she won't gain anything either." added Xane. "Which is why I'll have to agree with Bantu too. Besides, the girl's strong, she can take care of herself on the battlefield. The reason why we're accompanying her is because in times where she can't, we'll be there to help her out!"

"I can't really argue with that...but I still don't think she can take on such an environment." replied Marth. "You two are dependable, that I can attest to personally, but-"

"Prince Marth, I do not wish to interrupt you, but I'm afraid I can confirm that she is more than strong enough to deal with the circumstances, that is, provided that Bantu and Xane here support her."

"Hm? On what basis are you using to make such a statement?" asked Minerva curiously. Marth was more concerned than interested, but he seemed to want an answer as well.

"Marth, your concerns over this matter is a sentiment that I share as well, which is why when Tiki suggested this idea to me, I objected to it as you are doing now." admitted Gotoh. "However, I gave her a chance, if you could call it that. I said that I would consider her proposal if she could pass three "tests" that I would give her."

"I gave her this test wholeheartedly expecting her to fail at the first step and what does she do? She surpassed my expectations not once, not twice, but thrice."

"I see...Then may I ask you what your test entailed?"

At Marth's request and Tiki's approval, Gotoh explained his thinking process at the time to Marth and the others, as well as what those three "tests" were meant to do. Of course, Marth was a bit surprised and angry when he heard about the third "test", but he calmed himself after both Tiki and Gotoh reassured him that no damage was done.

Now however, Marth no longer had any logical reasons to object to Tiki's request. With the girl's own exceptional capabilities and other factors accounted for by Bantu and Xane, Tiki would be a great asset should he go through with the plan. Of course, Marth still felt no better admitting this, but he could at least stomach the idea better now.

"Very well, Gotoh...I understand." Marth sighed. "Hearing your cases, I'll acknowledge Tiki's desire and wish her all the best, even if I morally object to it. As for the journey itself...what do you propose the terms to be?"

"Instead of getting into all the boring stuff, how about we just split it based on gains?" interjected Xane cheerfully. "Macedon sends out the Whitewings to retrieve their ally, Altea provides the crewmen needed for the trip, and me and Bantu go as representatives of Dolhr. In regards to the ship and resources, we'll all chip in. Sounds fair?"

Gotoh and Minerva were fine with Xane's suggestion as they had already come to terms with this a while ago. Marth did not really have any objections other than the previous topic, but gathering men for the task would take time, as Altea was still in the process of recuperating.

"Those terms are acceptable but you'll have to give me time to prepare. Since Altea is still rebuilding, it would about two months or so us to finish. After that, I'll be able to spare some men for the task. Are you okay with that?" asked Marth.

"Yes, that should be fine." said Gotoh. "Lady Minerva, do you have any objections to this?"

"No, in fact, I'm quite satisfied with the terms laid out."

"I see, that's good. If there are no complaints, then I will adjourn this meeting and hopefully settle the numbers for our deal at a later time." stated Gotoh.

Everyone else agreed, and soon after, Marth was the only one in the room. Gotoh and Xane had matters to attend to back in Dolhr while Minerva made haste along with the Whitewings towards Macedon. Tiki had asked him if he was mad about the whole event, which made the Prince relent and state that he wasn't. With that, Tiki thanked him before leaving with Bantu, who also said his goodbyes.

 _Well...now that's done...I wonder how long it will take to get the necessary crewmen..._

Marth had said that he would be able to provide crewmen in a few months, but the time estimation he gave may have been exaggerated. While Altea didn't really destroy any urban infrastructure, the rural lands were another issue. Dolhr had occupied his castle and in the process, they had burned and destroyed their lands as an act of intimidation or as a punishment towards any dissent that Altea citizens had.

It would take a while to initiate the process of rebuilding as well as regain whatever infrastructure that was lost. So as a result, Marth could only hope that significant progress could be made within a few months.

"Marth, you seem a bit upset. Can I help?" asked Caeda, who slowly walked into the room.

"Ah Caeda, it's nice to see you." Marth's expression quickly changed into that of a smile. He was talking to his fiance after all. "And no, it's not really anything significant."

"Now now, you don't have to lie to me. While you are smiling now, your previous expression hid nothing." replied Caeda. Marth was surprised for a moment and then sighed. She always was a perceptive one.

"I could make out some details of your meeting when I was waiting outside." continued Caeda. "You probably pledged something that you didn't know you could provide, am I right?"

A moment of silence filled the air after the statement.

"Well...considering that I am your fiancée, what would be the point of our marriage if you aren't even willing to ask your significant other for help?"

"That's pretty harsh Caeda, but I suppose you have a point..." confessed Marth. He did not wish to burden Caeda with his troubles, but her words had stung. He supposed he could indulge her interest a little...

Of course, Marth had intended only to reveal a little bit of information, but Caeda had easily pushed him to reveal enough that she could paste together all the details. Apparently there was planning for a voyage towards Valentia and in order to retrieve some items. Dolhr and Macedon each had their own reasons to go as well, and thus, a deal was written. Marth had most likely promised to supply men, which he didn't have at the moment.

"Marth, you should know better than to make deals that you cannot keep. I can understand that whatever you need to retrieve may be important, but can't it wait until after Altea's done rebuilding?"

"It certainly could...But I'm afraid I'm not the only one that's going." Marth let out a heavy sigh. "I think you heard already, but one of the Whitewing members got kidnapped too. That, and Tiki wished to go too."

"I see...then I guess you already did well buying time..." replied Caeda. "Hmm...but there's actually a really easy solution to your problem."

Marth had already knew what she was going to say. After all, it was well known that Talys had some of the best men when it came to sea navigation and unlike the other kingdoms, was left relatively unscathed after the war, save for a few brigand raids here and there.

"I can easily lend you some men, as I'm sure my father would be more than happy to help you in your endeavors." Caeda mentioned the obvious solution that was in the room, but her expression hinted more. "Of course, this won't be free, even for you my dear, Marth."

"Quite honestly, I'd rather not make a purchase directly." admitted the Prince. "It wouldn't give people a good impression of Altea's standing if I did that."

"Who said you were going to purchase anything?" Caeda smiled, she wouldn't use such an obvious ploy. "Think of it as Talys's wedding present."

"Huh...that could work..."

"Indeed it could, but you'll have to give something back in return~" finished Caeda. "Of course, this would also serve as a way of further solidifying relations between our kingdoms."

So that was her real objective huh...

"Well Caeda, I'd love to repay the favor, but the question is, are you willing to wait?" Caeda paused as Marth made his point. "Indeed, I would have to give you something in return, but seeing the situation that's in my kingdom now, I doubt I can adequately prepare something by the Wedding."

When Marth finished, Caeda paused for a bit. Her sheepish expression soon turned into one of laughter. Marth couldn't really understand and as a result, stared at his soon to be wife, wide-eyed. The laughter soon ceased once Caeda realized that Marth didn't understand the implications of her words.

"Marth, what I'm getting in return is your hand in marriage!" Caeda's words surprised the Prince and he wanted to offer a rebuttal, but let her continue once she shushed him.

"You really undervalue yourself Marth. You're the hero of the people, the one who slew Medeus and freed Archanea from his rule. Not only that, but you're the direct descendant of the hero Anri and you have strong connections to what is essentially every kingdom that is on this continent. Recently, you've even managed to build better relations with the remaining manaketes too."

"You are right...but still...that just doesn't sound right in context." Marth responded hesitatingly. "After all, in regards to our marriage, we're supposed to be equals. Hero or not, it would only be just if you were given a suitable gift in return."

 _Marth, you always did care about the chasing your goals and helping those around you. But in return, you were also naive when it came to your surroundings._

"I'll show you something later but for now, consider your need for manpower resolved." Caeda finished, and she urged Marth to go with her.

Marth obliged, but before he left the room, he gave one final thought to what the meeting entailed. In a few months time, a ship will set sail to towards the only harbor they knew of in Valentia. Before then, Marth could only hope that the rumors of what was happening in Valentia were but exaggerated tales, even if his gut believed otherwise.

* * *

 _About a week prior to Robin's arrival in Zofia..._

"Hey Ban-Ban, Xane, I think I see land!" yelled a girl as she pointed into the distance.

While the majority of the crew members struggled to understand her voice over the waters of the sea, Xane heard it all too clearly hurried to see, a rather tired Bantu following behind him as well.

"Hm for once Tiki, you might be right!" said Xane happily.

It was currently early in the morning, but everyone was wide awake once a crewmate caught wind of Xane's words. Above the rocking ship were numerous gulls who went about their normal business, some fishing for food while others flew ahead. In the distance was what could be seen as a trail of smoke slowly going up. While further details could not be seen with the average eye, the fact that they had been on course for almost a week as well as the presence of seagulls meant that they would soon arrive at their destination.

While the trip itself may have taken less time, it seemed that Minerva's plight was not an exaggerated one at all. The weather had been subpar, which slowed the ship's progress, but what was even more of an annoyance was the presence of pirates. True to the Whitewings's warnings, they had already been attacked by numerous raiding ships, whom were keen to pillage what they saw as a simple merchant ship.

That carelessness would be their undoing.

Thanks to the help of Talys and Altea, who had managed to also garner the assistance of the new Kingdom of Archanea, the ship had more than enough supplies, a good number of crewmen and more importantly, fighting power. When the pirates had attempted to send men in via smaller ships and grappling hooks, they were quickly thrown off, taken prisoner, or killed. The Whitwings in particular, had hunted them down with zeal, either crippling them to take as prisoners or killing them if they refused to surrender. These pirates had taken one of their own, and they would respond in kind.

At first, this move only served to aggravate the pirate forces, which had sent even more ships in an attempt to attack them. This stopped however, once Tiki finally had enough and decided to use her dragon form. Within a few moments, the pirate ships that had sought to surround their intended prey were met with fire the likes of which they thought were only in legends. The weapons they used had no effect on Tiki and soon after, the remaining survivors either fled their now now burning ships or surrendered themselves to the Archaneans, hoping they would be spared.

It is from these prisoners that the Archaneans obtained confirmation on Grieth's involvements with the pirates along with a few other notable figures underneath him including Barth, the so called "pirate king". In addition, they had also obtained a native map of Valentia's waters from the pirates, showing the various islands that they had to pass through before they could reach the continent itself.

The most valuable information however, was knowledge about what was going on in Valentia's two kingdoms. The pirates themselves were vague, knowing little about the political affairs between Rigel and Zofia, but it was enough for Xane and the crew to paste together a sense of what was going on.

Essentially, Rigel was in the process of taking over Zofia, having already co-opted the latter's current military ruler, who took power after Zofia's remaining royalty had been killed off. There was a resistance movement against Rigel, but they had suffered heavy losses at Zofia's major castle, and were now being pushed back by the general and Rigel's forces.

After consulting the captain and the crew, it was decided that they would change course for Novis rather than their original destination, in an attempt to regroup before entering what could be hostile territory. Hopefully they would be able to restock on supplies and decide what to do from there.

Luckily, the seas were calm after the attack, and it seemed that the pirates were no longer willing to strike again. In a way, the attacks had been a blessing, as not only did the Archaneans receive information from the prisoners, but they had also inadvertently gained chips that could be used for negotiations and to garner trust.

Once the rest of the crew were notified that they were about to reach Novis, everyone expressed their joys. They had not seen land for a while now, and after having to deal with a storm at sea along with pirate attacks, they were glad that they would be at their destination soon. That, and the anticipation that many of the crew members shared resulted in many coming up to the top deck in order to get a view of the land ahead. While there wasn't much detail that they could make out, the exotic imaginations that the crew had filled in the missing details.

After around an hour or so, Novis and it's shores came to view. The expectations that the crew members had however, seemed more and more distant, the sight before them disappointing at best, and concerning at worst.

As the ship sailed around the island towards it's port, the surrounding areas could soon be seen. What they had initially thought would be a thriving kingdom, such as Talys, looked to be run down. To most of the crew members, seeing such a sight was common for them, for many lands had a similar appearance during the War of Shadows. After some time, Novis's port finally came into view and unfortunately, it looked to be in no better condition.

"Hm...take a look at the people." Xane was puzzled and called the Captain over, pointing at the gathering crowd on the shores of the city. "They look like they've never seen a ship before!"

"I concur. By the looks of it, we best be careful once we arrive."

The captain then decided to get a closer look, prompting one of the crewmembers to hand a spyglass over. The reaction of the captain confirmed the suspicions that most of the crew had at this point.

"Looks like a crowd of civilians, but I can see numerous guards approaching as well." said the captain. "What do you reckon we do Xane?"

The boy soon thought about his current options. It seemed that the residents of Novis were on guard for something, most likely the pirates that they had encountered out on sea. If this was the case, then the solution was obvious. All they had to do was simply turn over the captured pirates, and offer further assistance to the people in charge.

With any luck, any diplomatic matters would be put aside, and they would be able to build further relations with the people here. After that, they could possibly use some of the troops here to bolster their numbers, allowing them to launch a direct assault towards the pirates or at the very least, safely set sail for Zofia.

Of course, this was all a matter of luck. Xane had little idea as to what the populace was currently dealing with, and depending on the circumstances, many other factors could shift. Still, the decision on what to do next was obvious.

"We'll dock on their port. Me and a few others will go greet the people there." replied Xane. "Have our men be armed and ready should a skirmish or anything of the sort occurs, I'll have a sword by my side too, just in case."

The captain agreed, and the ship soon approached the harbor. To their relief, it seemed that the people were at the very least, willing to allow their ship to dock at their port. Ropes are hastefully thrown for the Zofians to handle, and soon, a bridge was lowered for Xane and a few others.

For a moment, Xane pondered if he should use his shapeshifting abilities to take on Marth's form, both as a political move and as a method of protection. The prince had been one of the most agile and precise swordsman he had seen throughout the years, and for a time, he would be able to use those abilities for himself. Thinking on the future political ramifications of such a move however, Xane decided not to for now.

The ones that would greet them however, were not the men that helped dock the ship, but rather two of the guards who have been watching. With spears pointed in hand, Xane noted that their expressions were hostile, though they also held a glint of curiosity.

"You, who are you? State your business." said the one on the left.

The guards themselves were nervous, although they tried their best to hide it. Novis Greatport had seen much better days, but now trade was scarce thanks to brigand and pirate activity, along with the heavy taxes that Desasix had imposed on the populace.

They were lucky that the corrupt general was busy dealing with the Deliverance and lining his and Rigel's pockets with Zofia's wealth, leaving Novis out of the conflict. However, they knew that once the Deliverance was defeated, it would only be a matter of time before Desasix and his men would march onto their shores and impose their rule. The guards hoped that today was not that day.

"Hm...just to be sure, this is Novis right?" asked Xane sheepishly. He hoped to diffuse the situation and possibly gain some info in the process.

"Yes, this is Novis Greatport." answered the guard. After examining the ship's crew and the boy that was greeting them, they relaxed a bit. "I take it you lot are foreign merchants or something?"

"You could say something like that, though you're not entirely correct." Seeing the guards' confusion, Xane reached into his pocket and handed a scroll over to the guard.

Judging from the scrolls contents, the guard saw that it was written in an odd form of the language that the Earth Mother had taught their ancestors many years ago. The boy's dialect was also different from the Zofian and Rigelian versions of the language too. Luckily for both parties, the differences in form were rather small, and the two could understand each other just fine.

"Hm...so you claim to be from Archanea?" asked the guard after reading the scroll's contents.

"Yep, I take it that you've had others of our kind before?" answered Xane casually. From the guard's experience, his face held no lies.

"We have, although due to the rarity of such a case, you will have to excuse me if I test the validity of your claims. In the meantime, my friend here will watch over you."

Though the boy's face and tone were honest, and his scroll bearing an emblem that was just as foreign as the boy, he still had a way of checking. Whispering something towards the guard next to him, the other guard then took the scroll in hand and ran into the town that laid past the docks.

"Alright I'm fine with that, in the meantime, let me give you guys a present." With a snap of his fingers, a few of their crewmen pulled out the prisoners that they had taken in their skirmish with the pirates, leaving them at the feet of a rather surprised guard.

"On our way here, we noticed you guys seem to have a pirate problem. Well considering your current kingdom's plight, I suppose it can't be helped, so we would appreciate it if you can see the actions we have taken against these pirates here as a sign of goodwill."

"H-Huh...yeah...I can do that." answered the guard nervously.

The other guard from before was his senior, and he had only been on the job for a few months now, but this was beyond his payroll as a recruit. In the first place, he had only taken this job despite its dangers due to the need to feed his family, and when these foreigners' ship had sailed onto their shores, he was worried. Though that has largely subsided after seeing these people in person, he was caught off guard when the boy had dumped a bunch of pirates at his feet.

He held the pirates in contempt for the most part, as they had essentially robbed Novis of it's most essential industry. Still, he had heard and seen what these men were capable of and were wary of them, yet these foreigners had not only faced the pirates down, but had even managed to capture a few as well. Taking a look at the captured men, they seemed resigned to their fate, with no signs of the ferocity and brutality that he had witnessed men of their kind have.

Before he could muster up more words to say to the boy, his senior had come back. In his hands were another scroll aside from the one that the boy had given him, most likely obtained from the archives of the island. Judging by the expression that his senior wore, it would seem that the boy and his men's claims were authentic.

"My apologies for taking as long as I did, I had to cross reference your scroll with another one that we had obtained many years ago. Rest assured, although we are surprised by your presence here, it is by no means...unwelcome." said the guard respectfully.

"Also, what are these men doing here? If these are slaves or anything of the sort, we will-"

The senior guard was cut off from his ramblings when the younger guard mentioned the information that the younger boy had said to him while the senior guard was gone. Though he was skeptical at first, the former took a closer look at the captured men and then hesitatingly nodded in return.

"So...now that we know you're from Archanea, what do you plan to do here?" asked the senior guard. "I do hope that you are aware of our current political situation..."

The scroll that the boy and the others had given him stated that the Archaneans were here on diplomatic matters, with various kingdoms in Archanea wishing to form better trading connections with the kingdoms here in addition to a few other things. Regardless, that made the situation only more complicated due to Zofia essentially being in the middle of a civil war amidst another war with Rigel.

With the pirates offsetting effective trade and the every expanding famine that was plaguing Zofia's lands, the peasants and merchants were disillusioned with their current prospects, while the priests and priestesses didn't know what to do due to Mila's absence. The nobles had mostly sided with Desaix when he had taken power in an attempt to hold on to their wealth, though to limited success. Due to Desaix's policies towards Zofia, most of the knights had defected and formed the Deliverance as a result.

As there were essentially three factions, how these foreigners would answer his question could drastically affect the current status quo. While the guard felt that that the choice to make here would be obvious, he desperately hoped that it wouldn't be the case. If there was a side that the commoners felt that they could side with, the closest would be the Deliverance. At the very least, the knights were sympathetic to their current situation, though there was little they could do as they were essentially on the verge of total collapse and defeat.

"Hmm...I'm honestly not so sure." admitted the boy. "I guess for starters, I was expecting a certain someone as your ruler, though judging by these pirates here, she doesn't seem to be doing her job correctly."

"Boy, I will only ask you this once, fix your tone when referring to the Earth Mother...!" warned both of the guards.

Although the foreigner had a point, his words were essentially spitting on the help and support that the Earth Mother had given to their ancestors. There had to have been a good reason for her not helping the people out now...there just had to be.

"Huh...so she has that kind of relationship with you guys..." replied the boy, seemingly unaffected by the threat. "I apologize for the words that I have spoken in ignorance. If you would permit me to ask, could you tell me a little bit more about Rigel?"

"I do not know much about them besides their warmongering antics and their worship of Duma, the Earth Mother's brother."

 _So that's what those two decided to do. Ah well, they just had to make things as complicated as possible huh..._

"Alright, I suppose you could lead me to your library, if you have one. Still got quite a few questions that I would like answers to after all."

At the boy's request, the elder guard told him the directions to the building that held the archives of the island and Valentia. Both of the guards hoped that after the foreigners read more on the subject, they would either refrain from interfering or if they must, then to not do anything rash.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 ** _Haven't updated this in a while due to my laziness and work, but hey, I'm back now I guess._**


	4. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimer:_** _I_ ** _do not own Fire Emblem nor any of the characters in the franchise. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of such content. No copyright infringement is intended._**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Traveling with Celica and the others had been a mostly pleasant experience, or at least as pleasant as it gets when traveling through woods infested with the "terrors" or whatever name they gave to the living dead could be. Luckily for the tactician, the terrors here were a bit more tame so long as you didn't go look for them intentionally. The capabilities of Celica and her companions had only been an additional boon as well, their magic easily destroying whatever terror attacked them as soon as they were alerted to their presence.

Thanks to Genny's healing, the fatigue that plagued him earlier was also gone, and he could do what Chrom and the others always said he did best, his actual job as a tactician. In fact, when he was actually given a bit of time to think about his current the situation, it gave him a sense of deja vu.

Waking up in an unfamiliar land, having to fight a battle almost immediately after doing so, and meeting new people in the right place and at the right time, with the mentioned people being almost unnaturally kind and accepting of him. Well maybe not exactly alike, after all, last time he remembered, he was the one who decided to help Chrom and the others out, not the other way around.

Though Celica and the others were seemingly wary of him at first, after a bit of walking and talking, and destroying a few of the terrors that had walked onto the main road, the tensions between them seemed to drop.

And after a few hours of walking, he finally had a grasp on the personalities of those that were before him. Celica was the spearhead of the group, with a neutral but firm approach to all things, though Robin could tell through her eyes, that she had much to worry about despite her actions. Mae was a lot more rash and outspoken, constantly poking fun at Boey, who tried his best to act professional but always left a bit of his concerned and worried self slip out. Genny, the girl who had healed his wounds, seemed kind and sincere enough in her actions, though she was quiet compared to the others and seemed a bit more aloof compared to the others.

Still, it looked as if these four seemed to share a great deal of trust between each other, something that he rarely saw. In a way, the group reminded him of the first people that he had met, with Celica having a similar approach to things as Chrom did, Mae being lively and close to Celica as was Lissa towards Chrom. Robin wondered how Boey would react if he had met Frederick, who had essentially mastered the act that Boey was trying to put on.

Thus, Robin couldn't help but smile just a bit, despite his predicament. As tensions relaxed, he finally decided to ask about their origins. If his theory was correct, he had an idea of who Celica was, or at least who she was going to become, though he had not remembered reading anything about the other three. If he was going to travel with them, he may as well get to know them as best as he could.

From them, he had learned that Celica and the others were essentially part of a Monastery, which served as a place of worship on Novis towards Zofia's patron goddess. Though he was aware from his past readings that Duma and Mila held a role in the origins of Valentia, he was surprised to see the extent of reverence the group before him had for Mila, who they called the Earth Mother.

This was nothing new, as he had seen others who have held a similar reverence towards Naga and Tiki back in Ylisse and later on in Valm. Unfortunately, seeing such feelings couldn't help but irk him just a little. Blind faith towards rather questionable "gods" were one of the catalysts that led to the ruin of at least one future and if it weren't for the intervention of Lucina and the others, then his would have probably suffered a similar fate. Thus, Robin could only hope that something similar wouldn't be present here.

"Hey look, we're almost there!" said Mae, who pointed towards a gate up ahead. Smoke could also be seen rising in the distance, indicating the port was close.

"It took nearly an entire day, but we're lucky to arrive before dusk." sighed Celica with relief. "Hopefully once we make it past the gate, we'll be able to find a place to stay."

"Ah man I can't wait!" Boey held an expression of true bliss. "Only a few more moments and we'll have warm beds, food, and best of all, no more terrors!"

Robin and Genny gave a silent nod to their words, though they were relieved as well. The dangers of these woods would only increase at night due to lack of vision, and the sooner they exited them, the better. Luckily, they had made it into the Port City before the gates closed, and were now headed towards an inn that Mae and Boey knew of on their past travels to the city.

The inn in question was an old one, having been in service before Boey and Mae were even born. Thanks it's location, it was only a short walk from the actually port, which was where Celica and the others planned to go tomorrow. To their pleasant surprise, while the number of ships docked at the port were few compared to the past, there was a particularly large vessel which stood out compared to the other smaller ships.

"Wow, it's been ages since I've seen a ship that big...I wonder what they're here for?" asked Mae excitedly. It had been a while since she and Boey was last on a ship, and pleasant memories flowed into her head when she thought back to those times.

"Good question, although now would hardly be a good time to ask it." replied Celica. "Since we're going to the docks tomorrow anyways, we could find out then."

"Yea, gonna have to agree with milady on this one." added Boey. "I'm honestly more interested in some food and a bed right now than some ship..."

"Hey Robin, what do you think about the ship?" asked Genny suddenly, surprising the tactician and the rest of the group. "Have you ever been on one that big?"

"It looks like a ship of voyagers to be honest." said Robin after looking at the vessel up ahead. "Well, whatever they are here for, it's good news for us I suppose."

At the very least, this hopefully meant that trade was still somewhat possible despite the famine and pirate problem that was present. If luck was on their side and that vessel was going to head to Zofia's mainland, then maybe they could even tag along.

"Yea, I suppose it is. Well lets take things one step at a time, we'll get some rest now and we'll see for ourselves tomorrow." finished Celica, though the moment she did, Boey quickly hurried ahead towards the inn, urging the others to follow him soon after.

When they reached the inn, they were relieved to find it still in business, offering food and lodging to whoever could pay. Luckily, the monastery had gave some coins to Celica and the others when they had left, in addition to ones they had already saved up.

"Hey Robin, I assume you don't have any coins on you right?" asked Celica, remembering the tactican's plight. "If so, I'd be happy to help you pay."

Thank you, but please, do allow me to see if I could pay for it myself." replied Robin, who reached into his robes in an effort to find something.

Luckily the coins that he had on hand back in Ylisse up until his final moments were still there. As Robin held one out however, he found himself hesitant in using them to pay. These were his pay back when he was with the Shepherds, tokens representing the work that he had done back in Ylisse. Now that he was in this world however, these coins were essentially one of the few material links he had of Chrom and the others.

"Hey Robin, you there?" A voice suddenly pulled Robin out of his thoughts. It turned out to be Mae's, who along with Celica, Boey, and Genny had seen him space out when he pulled out some of his coins.

"Ah...yes my bad, sorry." replied Robin embarrassingly. Swallowing his thoughts from earlier, he took one of the gold coins he had, and handed it to the clerk at the table.

"I'm sorry, but unlike the others, I'm not from around here." said Robin, "So unfortunately, I don't have this kingdom's currency. The coin that I gave you though is made of gold, will that do?"

"Uhh...I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid I cannot accept this." The Clerk's response, surprised Robin, though he felt a tinge of relief in the process. "Due to the number of scams that have been around involving false currency, we can only accept official Zofian coins. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"I see..." muttered Robin slowly as the relief which had filled him earlier now turned to embarrassment. "Looks like I will have to take you up on your offer Celica."

"Don't worry about it, think of it as thanks for the help you gave earlier." replied Celica.

Two rooms were then reserved, one for Celica, Genny, and Mae while the other for Boey and Robin for obvious reasons. With night approaching, everyone ate a bowl of food for dinner, before entering their rooms and wishing each other goodnight.

Inside the room, Boey quickly took out his outer robes before jumping on a bed. Robin couldn't really blame him, as a day of walking in a terror infested path would be tiring for him too as well. Though, he supposed to that he was more used to it now compared to Celica and the others, thanks to his past experiences with similar monsters.

"Hey Robin, mind if I ask you a question?" asked Boey. Robin was surprised, but nodded in return. "How did you get so strong?"

"Why do you ask?"

"When we first saw your fire spell, it wasn't like anything we've ever seen, read about sure, but seeing is believing as they say. You don't look that old either, so if you would allow me to know, how did you gain the power that you have?"

Robin pondered about the question for a bit, due to the implications that it had with his past. He could chalk up a good part of his affinity for magic to his birthright, but everything else couldn't be anything further from that. With a bit more thought on it, Robin finally put some words together to say.

"Well Boey...when the situation calls for it, you need to step up." responded Robin. "It takes hard work, discipline, support, and experience to grow. You've got everything except the latter, but I'm sure that will change in time. Just be patient and do as you've always done, and you'll be fine."

"I see...I guess I shouldn't have been expecting anything amazing huh..." muttered Boey.

"Give it time, there's no such thing as instant proficiency when it comes to anything. Is there a reason why you want strength so badly?"

"I'm currently an apprentice mage that's in milady's service, but I've always felt a bit inadequate compared to milady and Mae. If I'm skillful enough with magic, in time I'll be able to make a living off of it and hopefully help my family out. It's pretty much one of the only ways to get out of poverty honestly..."

"You have a noble goal Boey, especially amidst your current kingdom's plight. Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me that, I think I have a better grasp on your character now, you're quite the hard worker aren't you?"

"Y-Yea...thanks I guess...though this isn't something that I keep that hidden. Mae and the others know about it already." replied Boey embarrassingly.

"And yet they support you in your endeavors, don't they?'

"Although Mae can sometimes be pretty harsh...yea they do."

"Then you're well on your way to your goal." finished Robin. "Just be patient and continue working hard. You have the friends to help you, the motivation to improve, and a situation at hand that demands excellence, keep your goal in sight and it's only a matter of time."

"To be honest Robin, I'm still not really convinced...but thank you, I'll try my best to live up to your expectations." replied Boey after a moment of pondering.

With a nod in return, Boey soon went to sleep while Robin looked out of the inn's window. Looking out, he could see the ship floating gently on the waters against the docks. When he had told Celica and the others about what he thought the ship's purpose to be, he left out information.

A ship that big did indeed indicate that it was a ship for voyagers, but there would be only two types of those that were willing to come here. If what Celica said was true, and Zofia was suffering from a famine, he doubted that any sane merchant would travel here to do business. That only left one other option, though whether the latter was for better or for worse, he wouldn't know.

A large vessel indicated a long journey, and if it wasn't merchants who have came from afar to do business, then it had to be explorers of some kind, most likely with either royal or noble backing to be able to afford such a journey. The latter were much more unpredictable compared to the merchants, much to Robin's dismay.

If there was some sort of ulterior motive however, Robin couldn't really see what it was either. He was still mostly unaware of this world's workings, other than magic, which he had managed to get a better grasp of after helping Celica and the others out on the road here.

Unlike his time in Ylisse, it looked like there wouldn't be a large library he could go to either, which meant Robin would have to improvise. Giving off a large yawn, he supposed that the first thing he would do in the morning would probably to go with Celica and the others and talk to the inhabitants here, and perhaps the voyagers as well. Information was crucial at this point, and Robin knew that the sooner he is able to obtain it, the better.

With those final thoughts, Robin finally decided to call it a day and go to sleep. Unfortunately for the tactician, the rather uncomfortable bed ensured that he slept little, being the first one to wake up once the morning bells rang. Thankfully, his time back with the Shepherds had conditioned him to his sleep deprivation, and he hurried down to eat breakfast before waiting for Celica and the others.

"Ahh I haven't had such good sleep for quite a while now! Wouldn't you agree Celica?" asked Mae as she came down the stairs with the former and Genny.

"Hm, yes I suppose you have a point Mae. How about you Genny? Did you sleep well?" replied Celica.

"It was alright. Ah look, Robin's already up!" Genny pointed towards Robin, which surprised the others.

"Huh and I thought we were the early birds..." muttered Mae in response. Celica had to agree as well, their duties as priestesses in training had ensured that they would have early duties, and they could think of few that had reason to wake even earlier than they usually do.

"Oh, I didn't really sleep well." Robin shrugged his shoulders before sighing. "But I'm used to short sleep hours anyways. It seems to come with the job after all."

"Well it's nice to see you awake unlike a certain apprentice mage." replied Mae. "That means you **BOEY**!"

"Sheesh no need to be so loud Mae, I'm coming." A familiar boy then ran down the stairs, attempting to put on his robes in the process.

"Well now that we're all here, let's eat breakfast and relax a bit before going out. Yay or Nay?" asked Celica, who promptly received a 'yay' from her other friends.

"Ah that reminds me, do any of you happen to know if there's a library, or bookstore of some sort here?" asked Robin in response.

"Oh, there's nothing as big as a library here, but there is a building that contains the archives of some accounts on the island and Zofia's past. It should only be a few buildings away from here."

"That's good enough, thanks."

With that, Celica and the others ate their breakfast while Robin waited, before they went towards the dock in an effort to see if they could talk to the voyagers as well as the inhabitants of the city. When they talked to one of the sailors of the ship, the former had confirmed Robin's thoughts.

The ship in question was from Archanea, and the sailors themselves were here to accompany a few representatives of the kingdoms of Archanea in an effort to establish better connections with the people and kingdoms of Valentia. While few during his time would know what this information meant, Robin was happy when he had heard the information from the sailors.

The continent of Archanea was essentially Ylisse's name in a history that was almost completely lost to the scholars of Robin's time save for the name of the person that had unified the continent at the time, that being the Hero-King, Marth. The only reason he recognized the name of the continent was thanks to his interactions with Tiki.

Unlike the scholars, she had lived through the time of the First Exalt as well as Marth's, and as a result, had a personal history with the Archanea of the past and the Hero-King as well. Despite this, she had only told others the barebones of that history, and it wasn't until Robin had gotten closer to her that she began to talk about more personal accounts of her history.

From Tiki herself, Robin was able to hear about Tiki's trips with her late caretaker Bantu, as well as her later adventures with Marth and Xane, the latter being a "manakete" that held the ability to shapeshift. The information itself was surreal, especially when Tiki had told them of the plights that they faced, from the Dark Pontifex who possessed just as much if not even greater power than his late father in the arcane arts, and the Shadow Dragon Medeus.

Thus, Robin knew that there were two war periods during the Hero-King's time, and if Archanea had enough resources to spare a ship here, that meant that either the war periods themselves were over, or they simply haven't begun yet.

Regardless, this wasn't information that he could freely diverge, though it wasn't as if anyone would believe him anyways. Thinking back to Lucina's unique situation, it was more than likely that this world's history had already strayed from the history of his world.

"Um excuse me, would it be alright if I ask you gentlemen something?" Seeing that the girl before him seemed to be someone out of the ordinary, the sailor nodded.

"Thank you. Me and my friends here, we would like to ask if we could accompany you on your ship." replied Celica.

"Hmm...I'm not exactly sure if I can allow that or not, but where are you planning to head to?"

"We were planning to head to Zofia Harbor. There is a...problem there that we need to address in the mainland."

"Oh Zofia Harbor? We were planning to travel there at first." said the sailor. "But we had found out from the pirates that there is currently something akin to a Civil War in Zofia right now, which is why we opted to travel here instead. Is my previous presumption correct or...?"

 _Civil War...have things really gone that far...? Mila where are you...? The people, they need your guidance..._

"I'm...not too sure myself. I know that things currently aren't great with the current famine and pirate issue, but I don't think there is a full on civil war..."

Though Celica had hoped to reassure herself with her words, she found herself unable to truly deny the sailor's speculations. From what little she knew of her true "father", King Lima IV had done little to help the people during these harsh times. Especially now since her father had officially passed away, the idea of someone attempted to take advantage of the power vacuum that existed wouldn't be out of question.

This conclusion however, hinged on a statement that Celica didn't want to believe, something had happened to Mila. She was sure that if the Earth Mother was present, not even the Reglians would be bold enough to attempt to invade Zofia, much less a zofian attempting to start a coup.

Regardless of what was going on in Zofia, she had to go to Mila's Temple and find out for herself. Praying to the Earth Mother for her strength, Celica resolved herself.

"I see...well by the looks of your clothing, I assume you and your friends are mages of some sort?" asked the sailor again.

"Ah-yes, all of us are able to use magic to some extent. I'm Celica, a priestess, and I'll let everyone else here introduce themselves."

"I'm Mae, and I can assure you though we may seem young, Celica and I are skilled mages. Boey here while still an apprentice mage, has potential and is decent at the craft."

"Ah I-I'm Genny, I can't really use any of the spells that Celica and the others can use as of now, but I'm rather adept when it comes to healing others."

"I'm Robin, though my primary job is a tactician, I'll able to use tomes and the like just fine."

"Hm...well if you five earn your keep and contribute towards the ship's defense I think the captain would let you tag along." relented the sailor after thinking for a bit. "Although you'll probably need our boss's permission first."

"Alright, do you know where he is?" asked Celica eagerly.

"Don't know, the boy went into your town earlier in the morning, said he wanted to look around and explore. I reckon he'll be back at the port by dusk, so maybe come back then?" shrugged the sailor.

"Hm...that's fine. Thank you for your time."

The sailor gave a nod in response before going back to attending his duties, leaving Celica and her group to think about what to do next. At the very least though, it seemed that they had a way to travel to Zofia Port.

"Well...he seemed pretty nice for a foreigner, surprised he knew our language too!" said Mae after they had left the port.

"He was only one person though, we don't know the rest of the crew or his "boss" so we'll have to see." said Boey in response.

"Well you both make good points." added Celica. "Though perhaps you didn't notice, he was speaking an older version of our language. Luckily, we still seemed to be able to understand them fine."

"Yea, I'm not really surprised though...it was a language that the Earth Mother taught us after all..." said Genny. "Anyways, what do you suppose we do now Celica?"

Genny had raised a pretty good point, leaving Celica and the others to ponder on it as well. The "boss" of the ship that they would have to talk to most likely wouldn't be back from his excursion until dusk. Right now, it was still mid-morning, which left nearly an entire day for the group to use.

"I have an idea of what we should do, although I'm not really sure if it would be a good idea..." replied Celica. "Since you're the most experienced here, what do you suppose we do Robin?"

"Well, for one I would probably spent a little bit of time to see if we could look for their boss."

"That doesn't seem like a bad idea, but we don't know what he looks like or even where he went." said Boey in response.

"You have a point Boey, but I reckon that since their boss is a foreigner and an eccentric one as well judging from his willingness to explore the town, his appearance will probably stand out as well."

"That makes sense, still, it would be impolite to confront and ask him during his leisure time don't you think Robin?" countered Mae. "I say, we just use the day to talk to the locals, maybe learn more about what's going on in Zofia, if there is anything to learn that is."

"Hm I didn't think about that..." admitted Robin. It seemed he was taking things too far without consideration of risk, he would have to work on that. "Well what do you suppose we do then?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could do something similar to what Mae suggested." replied Celica. "Though I plan to ask if any of the locals will be willing to accompany us as well. It helps to have strong allies after all, and it wouldn't do if we wholly relied on you and the crew of that ship."

"That sounds fine. If you plan on doing that, then I think I'll go to the Archives that you mentioned. We'll meet up at the inn later in the afternoon and go to the docks to ask the ship's captain about our plight. That okay with you?" asked Robin.

"Yes, that will be fine. Thank you for your help Robin, may Mila look over you."

With that, Celica and her friends departed towards the town square while Robin waved his goodbyes before heading towards the Archives of the town. Though a part of the tactician felt he would not learn much more than what Celica and the others already told him, it would be a waste to not at least try.

* * *

"Hey Celica, were you serious about the whole recruiting locals thing?" asked Mae after they had walked for a bit. "Cause I don't know if it will be a good idea or not."

"Yes, I was quite serious Mae." replied Celica. "While I truly do appreciate Robin's help, I can tell that he has his own goal here. I don't think it's a malicious one, but I have a feeling that our paths will separate soon. If we are to be able to face the pirate problem head on, we'll need more allies."

"With all due respect Milady, where are we going to find someone like that?" questioned Boey hesitatingly. "I don't think the locals here will be willing to face the pirates, much less with anything beyond that."

"Um...we could just ask the townspeople if they know anyone who fits that criteria. Then we could just go to that person directly and ask if they are willing to help." suggested Genny after overhearing the issue.

"Yep, Genny has a good point there. Anyways, we should hurry up though, we don't have too much time left after all." said Celica in response.

Mae and the others nodded at Celica's suggestion, and they did what Genny had suggested. Unfortunately, most of the townspeople they had ended up asking didn't have any notable suggestions. It seemed that even most sellswords had decided to stay wary of the pirates at sea, which only made Celica and the others hold the voyagers that had managed to travel here on ship in an even higher regard. If they were able to fend off these pirates, it meant that the crew were truly something exceptional.

The few sellswords that would have been willing to help her, had already left the island to face the pirates, whether it be due to promises of wealth or a personal vendetta they had against the pirates. Rarely did they ever come back, and the few that did were usually crippled and no longer able to fight. The most notable one among these sellswords, a knight, had already left right with a group before the foreigners had arrived. Apparently the pirates had sacked his town earlier on and ended up killing his entire family, stripping the man of everything that he had.

Celica could only pray for his success and if not that, then a quick and painless end that would reunite him with his family again.

It wasn't until after around an hour of asking around did they finally find a sellsword of notable reputation that seemed to at least be open to the idea of journeying out to sea. According to a few people that they had asked, the man's name was Saber, and he was among the best that one could hire. In addition, the man apparently wouldn't do any job either, only those that he found to be worth his time in gold. Though the last bit of info worried Celica and the others, it still wouldn't hurt to ask the man if he could help.

Asking for Saber's location, one of the townspeople pointed towards a popular tavern that the sellsword apparently frequented. With a nod and a bow in return, Celica and her friends headed towards the tavern. Though their next course of action was clear, the concerns that the previous townsperson had raised over Saber's personality however, still worried Mae and Boey.

"Celica, are you sure this guy's going to be willing to help us? Going by what the townspeople say, he seems to just be your run in the mill arrogant knight. The kind that's only a few steps away from their grave, if you know what I mean." asked Mae.

"If he wasn't a notable swordsman, I doubt the townspeople would tolerate his apparent attitude." responded Celica in return. "A sellsword that can back up their arrogance are few in number, but from the way they had spoken about him, I believe Saber's a veteran of some sort."

"Though...we won't know until we see for ourselves right? Initial perceptions are not always what they seem to be at first after all."

Boey and Genny nodded with acceptance while Mae sighed before agreeing to Celica's plan as well. Though they knew that Celica's actions were a bit rash to the point where even Celica herself was a bit nervous, there wasn't really much of an alternative either.

They soon made it to the tavern and after walking, there was only a single person sitting at the tables. He had reddish hair with a rather muscular build, but the most notable aspect about him was his eyepatch. The man had noticed their entrance as well, and let out a sigh of annoyance in response.

"I take it you're here for me?" asked the man menacingly.

"Well that depends, are you the one the townspeople call Saber?" replied Celica

"You've got some spunk lass, I'll give you that." said Saber smiling. "So what's someone like you doing in a dump like this?"

"I...would like to request your services as a protector."

"Hm...guard duty huh...where are you headed to?"

"We plan to be departing on the ship that had recently landed shore here. We'll be making way to Zofia's mainland after that, towards Mila's Temple."

"Alright I'll bite, I think you've already heard of the ship's prowess right?" asked Saber, receiving a nod from Celica in return. "Then I'll have to ask, why would you need my presence as a guard? Surely the people on that ship would be more effective regarding your request compared to someone like me."

"It's for reassurance. Your services will be for me and my friends first before anyone else. I also plan for you to accompany us after we reach our destination too as well."

"I see...well that's just fine." chuckled Saber lightly. "Alright, so what do you plan to at Mila's Temple? Last time I heard, she wasn't accepting visitors."

"We plan to ask Mila for her help...Zofia is amidst a civil war, famine and terrors wreak havoc on our people's wellbeing. Surely the Earth Mother would be willing to help us in such dire straits."

"Hm, well I don't know about that. You would think that if she wanted to help, she would've done something already! Ah but who am I kidding, not my business to judge." replied Saber starkly. "I'll just ask up front then, do you have the goods to pay me?"

"How much will it be?" asked Celica nervously. She had already known that the question would be raised, but hoped the justification of their goals would perhaps result in Saber waiving the fee, or at least reducing it.

"Thirty-Five gold coins. These are desperate times after all, so you won't mind if I ask for that much right?"

'Hey what's the big idea!? That price of yours is absurd! Sellswords usually are willing to do the job for only half that price!" Mae was the first to react to Saber's request, her expression seething with anger.

"Now now...let's not look for any trouble Mae..." muttered Boey as he desperately attempted to hold Mae back. Truth be told though, he was just as outraged as she was. Thirty-Five gold coins was a great sum of money, an amount that his family would only be able to meet in a years time, if the season was generous.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for a lower price then that..." replied Celica, having been just as surprised as her friends when Saber spoke his price. "As you said yourself, these are desperate times, surely you wouldn't expect us to have that kind of money with us at hand?"

"Hey I'm just stating a price, and may I mind you it is for a job that I would have to risk my own life for, you can take it or leave it."

"Celica I don't have as much money as you do, but I'll do what I can to help..." said Genny who reached into her pocket, taking out 4 gold coins in return.

"Tch, the price you're asking for is completely out of line...but we don't have much of a choice...take this Celica." added Mae reluctantly, taking out some of the coins she had, Boey soon deciding to do the same thing.

"I...I don't think I can accept these. You guys really don't have to..." muttered Celica in response. She was immensely grateful that her friends were willing to help her out like this, but she felt that she could not simply accept the coins from them like this.

"Celica please, don't say that. When we asked to come with you, we were serious. You're a good friend to us, and if we ask to tag along, this is the least we could do." replied Genny in return. Mae and Boey both felt inclined to agree with her.

"I see...I can't thank you guys enough..."

Reluctantly taking the coins that her friends had offered her, Celica hoped that their coins combined with hers would be enough to meet the fee that Saber was asking for. Unfortunately, it seemed that even that wasn't enough, as she was still five coins short.

The feeling of not having enough despite the assistance that her friends had provided crushed Celica's heart. Thinking on a compromise, Celica reached into her belongings to see if there was a way to make up for the missing amount. The only thing she had however, was something that she had cherished greatly.

It was a Golden Dagger, one of the few momentos that she had of her past with Conrad long ago. It was apparently a gift from her father towards all those within the royal family, though he never saw it fit to give it to any of them personally. Thus, Conrad had been the one to handed Celica the dagger and from then on, it served as a way for her to always remember her brother, even after all these years.

Despite the importance of her dagger however, she knew how much the coins that her friends had given her mattered to them, as well as how important it would be to gather allies. If the people of Novis had spoken so highly of Saber, she knew he would follow his end of the bargain, so long as he was adequately paid for the job. Seeing the sacrifices her friends were willing to make, Celica resolved herself as well.

"Unfortunately...I am five coins short of your fee Saber. If I may ask, will this dagger suffice to make up for it?" asked Celica as confidently as she could.

"Milady, that dagger looks quite valuable, are you sure about this? If he isn't willing to help us we could always find another person..." muttered Boey as he and the others realized the implications of Celica's actions.

"No it's fine, you guys already know that there isn't really anyone left that can help us other than Saber here. Besides, you three were willing to help me, it certainly won't do if I don't return the favor."

"Tch, I can't believe you lot are making me out to be the bad guy...fine, I can't earnestly charge you guys if you're just gonna act all sappy about it..." uttered Saber with annoyance after a moment of pondering. "I'll lower my price to Twenty gold coins, you can keep your dagger lass."

"Huh...? Are you serious Saber...? Please, we don't really have time for any fooling around..." exclaimed Celica, her surprise shared by her friends as well.

"I won't be if you keep questioning me. And you just had to remind me of something I didn't want to remember...anyways do we have a deal or not lass?"

"Yes...Yes I think we do Saber." muttered Celica, her expression giving away her delight. "Also please stop calling me lass, just Celica will do."

"Nah, perhaps be a day where I'll refer to you by your _**real** _ name, but for now, you're still a lass in my eyes, even if you're my employer."

Towards Saber's response, Celica's friends frowned at the sellsword's attitude, but Celica particularly was a bit disturbed. Still, she kept her best to maintain her cool, after all, it could have just been a coincidence. Grandpapa had made sure that any loose ends regarding her past was eliminated, which was the primary reason why she was here at Novis in the first place rather than the villages that still held some of her fondest memories.

"I-I see...well with that out of the way, I intend to have a talk with the voyagers that have recently come later in the afternoon. I suppose I'll start by introducing you to the rest of my friends."

With that, Celica had let the sellsword know the gist of who her friends were as well as let him know of Robin's departure from the group prior to meeting the sellsword. Saber's carefree demeanor frowned a bit when he heard Celica describe the tactician that had been accompanying her to town.

"Hm I wouldn't say I'm an expert when it comes to judging people, but let me get this straight lass. So you meet a strange man wielding magic you've never seen before, you help him out despite the dangers that man could pose towards you, and then not only do you get your friend to heal said man, but allow him to tag along with you despite the previous points. stated Saber inquisitively. "That's pretty reckless if I do say so myself, and don't you think the circumstances surrounding this Robin figure seems a bit suspicious?"

"Although what happened isn't as straightforward as you've put it...I can't exactly disagree with your words Saber...but he did help us out on our way here. While he feels a bit...distant at times, I'm sure that if he had any ill intent, he could've done it back in the forest."

"Well, you're the employer, so in the end, it's your call lass. Don't say I didn't warn you though." sighed Saber. Though the girl before him was naive, that was still better than some of the other selfish and narcissistic nobles he had dealt with in his past.

"Very well...anyways we still haven't had lunch yet and we intend to before departing the island. Would you like to join us Saber?"

"Nah, I've already eaten my fill." quickly replied Saber. "Though instead of a meal, how about you treat me to a bottle of booze? Now that would be a whole different story!"

Hearing the laughter of the sellsword before them, Celica could only sigh while Mae and the rest of Celica's friends watched on, still surprised at the casual display before them. They knew better now however, as the expression that Saber had when Celica had introduced them and the others was one that didn't belong to some inexperienced sellsword or town drunk.

The closest person that Mae and Genny had seen with that sort of look was the knight that had dropped Celica off at the Monastery. Their eyes often gave away their experience, the sort that only veterans who have gone through periods of conflict, and lived to tell the tale. When Celica had introduced them to Saber, the man shifted his focus towards them, sizing them up in the process.

While it was simply a first impression, that in itself would often determine one's course of action towards another. For Saber's case, he was open to changing his views if proven wrong, but his intuition at first glance usually ended up being correct. Luckily, while the lass's friends were anything but subtle, showing their reactions quite clearly to the man as he analyzed them, they were intuitive towards their environment. That in itself, already made them better than many of their age he had seen in the past.

Saber's attempt at diffusing the situation paid off however, and Celica along with her friends were able to put aside their worries for now. With that, Celica's group along with the newly recruited Saber went out to get lunch. Though not many words were shared, they all hoped that the journey up ahead would be a safe and uneventful one.

* * *

Robin did not know when the observer in question had started watching them, but he knew that it had to be recent. While it was simply a gut feeling at first, Robin had decided to see if it would remain after he parted ways with Celica and the others. When it hadn't despite his departure from the group, Robin decided to forgo his original intentions.

Wandering around the unfamiliar city, Robin walked and turned across various city blocks while looking over his shoulder every now and then in an effort to see what would happen next. While he was walking however, he had neglected to pay much attention to his surroundings as there wasn't much people on the streets in the first place despite it being near noon. And so inevitably, Robin had accidently bumped into someone, making the latter's belongings scatter across the floor.

"Ah...s-sorry about that, I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings." apologized Robin embarrassingly. "Here let me pick up your belongings for you."

Looking at just what had scattered onto the floor, Robin realized that the person was carrying a bunch of scrolls and books. This had piqued Robin's curiosity despite the situation he was in. As he picked the materials up, he felt tempted to unroll one of those scrolls or open one of the books in an effort to see what they held.

"Hm...don't worry about it, you did seem pretty frantic after all." replied the figure, now revealed to be a young boy. "I presume some of the stuff that I dropped interests you?"

"Y-Yea, though this probably isn't the right time or place for that. Here, let me give these back to you." Robin quickly handed the materials back to the boy, much to his further embarrassment. He couldn't believe that he had let his immediate curiosity get the better of him right after an accident.

"Once again, don't worry about it. If you want to know where I got them, go to the Archives of this city. They've got a lot more records than I had expected, so I'm sure if you go there now, you'll be able to read some copies of the materials that I have here."

"Alright...still though, thank you for your suggestion." replied Robin. In situations like these back in Ylisse, he would've treated the boy to lunch or something similar. Unfortunately, as he had essentially no money at the moment, all he could offer was his gratitude.

"Well, I'm glad I was able to help." said the boy as he prepared to leave. "And allow me to give you one more piece of advice before we part ways."

The next phrase that the boy said was a whisper, holding none of the enthusiasm that he previously held.

"You should look behind your right."

With that, the boy quickly waved goodbye before running off in the opposite direction. Heeding the boy's instructions, Robin shifted his eyes towards his right in a discreet manner. To his misfortune, his previous suspicions of a stalker had been proven true, as he saw a figure hiding behind one of the buildings to his right. It seemed that the boy he had encountered was more receptive than he thought, though Robin now had to think on what to do next.

Figuring that the figure most likely didn't want to confront him due to the people around him, Robin had decided to take a gamble. Remembering the way that he had walked with Celica into the city, he slowly made his way towards the gates gone through to enter the city. Since it was around noon, the security around the gates were rather low, and the city guards dozed off while he made himself out of the city.

Walking down the road and further away from the city, the presence that had been following him disappeared initially, and returned after a bit of time, most likely leaving the city through another gate. Robin took a few more steps before he abruptly stopped, deciding that now was the time to act.

"I don't know who you are or what you want, but I know you're here". declared the tactician. "Whatever you're planning to do, you might as well do it now, it's the best chance you'll get."

"Hmph...how did you know I was there?" replied a rash voice.

Following that, the figure that had followed Robin revealed himself, stepping out from behind the trees he had hid behind. Taking off the hood that he had worn earlier, what laid beneath was a decrepit appearance more befitting of a dried corpse than any living being.

"Then again...I suppose it doesn't really matter since you'll die here." sneered the figure. "Still, allow me to thank you for making this such an easy job, it looks like I was too cautious in my approach. Once I get rid of you, retrieving the girl from her little friends should be easy."

Hearing those words, a few possible candidates for who the figure was referring to quickly came to Robin's mind. Unless there was someone about Mae or Genny that they had neglected to tell him, the most likely candidate that this thing planned to go after is Celica. The de-facto "leader" of her group, Celica seemed to stand out particularly compared to her friends when they had first met.

In addition, after a bit of thinking from yesterday, he had finally remembered why Celica's name seemed familiar to him. The woman in question that King Alm would marry after he unified the continent of Valentia would be Anthiese. While nearly all of the records he had read confirmed this, there was a particularly old account that he had read during his spare time in Valm, which had instead referred to King Alm's wife as Celica. This particular account was much more in depth compared to the others that he had seen, claiming that Anthiese and Alm had shared a childhood together long before Alm had ascended to the throne. It was during this time that Anthiese had used the name "Celica", and it later stuck with Alm, choosing to refer to his wife by the latter rather than Anthiese in all but official records.

As the account itself seemed incomplete, almost as if it fell out of a journal in addition to be the only one of it's kind that held such claims, the information itself was questionable. By all records that he had known of however, King Alm was monogamous despite his status as the king, and this was no different for the particular account he was referring to either. In addition, as the account's information on Alm and Anthiese was positive, Robin could not discount it as a malicious piece against the royal family at the time either.

What had intrigued Robin was not only the account's unique take on what happened between Alm and Celica, but the writer's style of writing too, almost as if they themselves were close to the family. While the writings themselves could have just been the ravings of a lunatic, the fact that he had found the account within the archives of what was arguably the oldest castle on the continent made Robin suspect that the account had more credibility than it had first let on.

If that account was true, then why was the pseudonym "Celica" used? That name was had absolutely no similarities to Anthiese, though if the man before him truly was after Celica, perhaps the pseudonym was established in an effort to protect her. Regardless, all of this was speculation, and he would have to confirm it with Celica later in a discreet manner, as he risked falling out with her and her friends if he wasn't careful with his words. For now though, he hoped to be able to bait the figure before him into revealing more of what they knew.

"Hm, if you're going to kill me here, may I so much as ask why you are trying to retrieve one of my companions?" asked Robin cautiously, his face expressing a sort of hesitation in an effort to get the figure to lower his guard. His hand was already on the hilt of his Levin Sword, ready to act at a moments notice.

"Haha nice try, but it's nothing a dead man needs to know." laughed the figure in return, much to Robin's disappointment. "Just know that you were simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time."

With that, the figure attempted to do something, but before he could, Robin quickly unleashed a bolt of lightning with the drawn Levin Sword, momentarily stunning the figure out whatever he was planning to do. Quickly taking advantage of the situation, the tactician quickly closed the distance between him and the figure and in the next moment, his blade was at the latter's neck.

"I've faced enough mages to know when one is about to use a spell, so if you try anything, you'll be bleeding out before you even finish uttering a single verse."

Of course, the former was simply a bluff that Robin had thought of on the spot. From what little he had observed of the mages here, they did not need tomes to cast their spells. In addition, instead of drawing energy as a catalyst to cast the spell from the tomes, the mages here had somehow managed to do so without using that catalyst but instead relied on their lifeforce.

Robin still did not know if that was universally the case, but if he judged the figure he was threatening based on his looks, he doubted that this figure had the lifeforce to use any conventional magic. At the same time, the previous confidence that the figure held must have came from somewhere, meaning that he most likely had some way of using some type of magic.

Seeing the decrepit figure and the strange purple light that he exuded brought back memories that he wouldn't mind forgetting. Of course, he was referring to the Dark Magics that those of the Grimleal favored, their magic specifically stemming from their worship and connection to Grima, except for a select few whom held a natural talent for such magic

If the implications of Dark Magic were true in his timeline, Robin held the suspicion that it would most likely be true here as well. Conventional Magic is common among mages, but he knew that it took a great deal of discipline and some talent to be able to use the tomes that contained these spells effectively. Judging by the respect that the populace had towards Celica and her friends, mages here are perhaps a lot more rarer than they are in his time, most likely because the mages here did not use nor require tomes to use magic, owing to their natural talent and prowess to do so.

Dark Magic was much different and did not rely on the usage of tomes, but mainly through the caster's interactions with unspeakable entities that were the stuff of legends in his time. Though there were still some tomes that had contained the magic, only those that seemingly had an affinity for the dark arts could use them. Dark Magic is often considered to be stronger than Conventional Magic so if the figure had access to the former, then his confidence would be somewhat justified.

"You wretched...! Well then how about this?!" At the figure's words, Robin quickly tried to act on his threat, a black misma quickly emerged from the figure, forcing Robin back.

"Curse your little tricks boy, but I won't fall for them again!"

The figure distanced himself from Robin and within moments of uttering another spell, Robin watched as risen or "terrors" as Celica and the others referred to them as, manifested themselves around the figure. Once the summoning was complete, the five of them glared at Robin, their eyes exuding the same purple color of their summoner.

"Well now, let's see how you handle this?! Now go, show this boy his place!"

The terrors then attacked in unison, charging towards Robin as he readied his Levin Sword. The blade of lightning that he had on hand was one of his most trusted weapons, and it would serve him best, no matter the circumstances.

With a swing of the sword, arcs of lightning were sent out, electrocuting two of the terrors, the sizzling of burnt flesh following soon after. Stabbing his blade into another terror that had approached, the zig-zag design of the Levin Sword stabbed its way into the terror's flesh. With the blade firmly within the terror, Robin swung the blade along with the now impaled terror towards two more that were heading his way.

With a hard kick, Robin sent the terror that he had stabbed straight into another one, and with another swing of the blade, both of them met the same fate as the first two. While normal humans would have most likely fled the scene after witnessing this, terrors possessed no such emotions. Thus, the final terror lunged at Robin in an effort to obey it's summoner's orders, only to be meet dirt as Robin sidestepped the attack.

The figure after seeing that his terrors held little effect against the tactician, sought to take manners into his own hands. Wording another spell just as the final terror that he had summoned lunged at the tactician, he hoped that the latter would be distracting ending the the last of his summons before he would send one of his offensive spells towards the tactican's way.

Unfortunately, Robin having now fully understood the capabilities of the figure, decided to counterattack in his own way. Dodging the desperate attack that the final terror attempted, Robin could see the expression that the figure held. Robin smiled as the figure proved time and time again that his ill conceived superiority was to be his downfall. Dark Magic was powerful, but at the same time, it wasn't exactly the quickest of spells either. Robin had been caught off guard the first time the figure had used Flux, but that was only because of his uncertainty and the fact that the figure was using the spell hastifully in an act of defense.

Dark Magic when used offensively however, wouldn't be so subtle. Taking this chance, Robin quickly swung the Levin Sword once more, and before the figure could enact his spell, lightning struck him. Unlike the terrors that he had summoned, the figure still held a sense of pain, and his cries sent crows flying off into the distance before he finally fell along with his summons.

"And that's a wrap." sighed Robin with relief. For a moment, Robin worried if his efforts had been lethal against the figure as he had wanted to ask them some questions while they were conscious, but incapacitated. Luckily, the figure was still moving, now attempting to crawl away in an effort to flee.

"Hey where do you think you're going?" said Robin, stepping on one of the figure's hands in retaliation. "So not only did you stalked me and the others, but you also tried to kill me even though I just wanted to ask you some questions. I think I have some right to be just a tad bit angry, no?"

Robin only received a few groans of pain in response.

"So how about we start from where we left off? You tell me who you're after and why, as well as whatever group you're from, and I may just let you live."

"I...I'm not going to tell you anything...!" uttered the figure after a bit of consideration. "You can either let me go...or you can kill me...and if you do...there will be others that will come in my place...!"

"Might I ask why? Just tell me what you know and run away from your organization...or cult...or whatever you're from." replied Robin, only to receive a laugh in return.

"Well aren't you naive...as if they would allow any loose ends go...just choose and get this over with...!"

Robin sighed once he heard the figure's response. He could see the fear and resignation that was in the figure's expression, and he knew that there were few things in the world that could bind someone so tightly. The fact that the figure was so unwilling to tell him anything despite facing death showed that most likely an even worser fate awaited him should those that the figure works for realize his failure.

If this was to be the case, then there would be nothing gained from letting the figure go.

"I see...are you sure you're not willing to say anything?"

"I've already made my answer clear, boy."

"Very well then...you've made your choice."

Taking the tip of the Levin Sword, Robin stabbed the blade down onto the figure's back, the the latter letting out one last cry of pain before going limp. All in all, Robin had gained absolutely nothing despite his apparent "victory" over the figure, much to his irritation.

"Wow...well that was anticlimactic...shame you didn't learn anything."

"Who's there!?" shouted Robin, surprised at the fact that there had been a spectator, but even more so that he recognized the voice.

"Now now, no need to get so uppity, you were just defending yourself after all." A few seconds later, the same boy that warned him of the figure came out of the bushes. "Besides, it's not like there's any evidence of your wrongdoing either. Take a look."

To Robin's surprise, the corpse of the figure whose life he had ended was gone, all that was left was some sort of black dirt and the clothes that the figure wore. That however, was below the priority of concerns that Robin had compared to the boy that was in front of him.

"Hey, I'm not here for trouble. I was just curious, that's all." chuckled the boy. "And maybe get some information relating to the figure you killed in the process."

"I see...so what happens now?"

"Hm...those friends of yours that the figure was after, could you perhaps tell me about them?"

"I could, but what do you have to offer me?"

Robin felt that he should refrain from telling the boy anything even if he had only known Celica and the others for a day or so. They had helped him greatly back in the forest, offering information and lodging despite his circumstances. Regardless, he knew little about them anyways, and so the only thing Robin could do was bluff his way through for now.

"Well, I've got gold I guess, but I don't think that would be valuable to you..." the boy pondered for a bit but quickly came up with something he felt would be worthwhile. "How about this? Do you know about the ship that landed here not too long ago?"

"You're talking about the large vessel that's at the harbor right?" the boy nodded. "Okay, what about it?"

"I'm the boss of that ship...well sorta anyways. I guess I'm more like the advisor."

"Well that's a pretty big claim if I ever heard one." critiqued Robin.

While the ship's sailor did mention that their "boss" was currently exploring the town, the boy's claims were dubious at best. The only reason Robin did not outright dismiss his claim was what the position that the boy claimed to have. As far as Robin knew, the fact that the ship specifically had a "boss" other than the captain was not widespread knowledge. This fact alone gave the boy a bit of credit but it could just be a lucky guess.

"It's true though!" rebutted the boy. "If you don't believe me, why don't you follow me back to the ship? If I can get you onto the ship completely legitimately, will that be enough for you to believe me?"

"Oh? Yes that would be more than enough, but are you sure you're willing to let a "murderer" onto your ship like that?"

"Pff whatever that thing was, it stopped being human long ago and like I said before, your actions were in self defense as far as I'm concerned. Besides, you seem pretty interesting yourself. Your clothes and mannerisms are different from the townspeople, you're not from around here either are you?"

 _Tch, the kid is perceptive...!_

"I'll neither confirm nor decline that." answered Robin after recomposing himself. "But I will take you up on your offer. I do hope you'll excuse me for having my doubts though until you actually go through with your claims."

"Haha well that's fine I suppose. Anyways though, mind telling me your name? If not, I can make one up for you now on the spot!" asked the boy curiously.

"I'd rather you not do that. As for my name, it's Robin."

"Robin huh, well that's an uncommon name...I think I'll call you Robs instead! Well then, please refer to me as Xane alright?" replied Xane cheerily, much to Robin's displeasure. "I do hope that this will be the start of a great partnership."

"I certainly hope so Xane, I certainly hope so..."

* * *

Noon had soon passed and it was currently around mid to late afternoon, prompting Celica and the others to head back to their rooms at the inn. While bringing Saber along with them usually meant that they would have to pay for another person, they were anticipating to leave before the evening, leading to no extra charges unless circumstances change.

"Well now lass, shouldn't we be going to the ship at the docks to meet this "boss" of theirs first instead of coming here?" asked Saber.

"While that would be a good decision normally, we promised Robin that we would meet up with him here at around now..."

"Somehow, that isn't very reassuring..." sighed Saber. "Just to be clear, you didn't give him anything of yours before you left right? For example, the dagger that you tried to trade with me?"

"No I didn't...but I did pay for his stay here last night." replied Celica. "I think we should at least wait for a bit before we jump to any forgone conclusions, wouldn't you agree Saber?"

"Your call lass, your call..." shrugged Saber.

And so, they waited for around an hour or so yet no one showed up. As Robin had not left any belongings at the inn before he left, Celica and the others found themselves aligning more and more towards Saber's perspective. It was after an additional hour of waiting that Celica and the others finally decided that they needed to go.

"Y'know, I never thought that Robin would be the type of guy that would ditch us like that. Think something happened to him?" asked Mae as she and the group left the inn.

"I honestly don't know Mae...but regardless of his reasons, he hasn't shown up. I hope he's okay..." muttered Celica.

"With all due respect milady, I think Saber's scenario is more likely." replied Boey, his disappointment just as apparent as it was for Celica and the others. "Like you said, the guy seemed pretty nice and he was a good mage too, but these are hard times. He probably found another employer or something with a sweeter deal than ours I guess..."

Regardless of their feelings on the subject however, they were on a tight schedule and with how big the city was and how little time they had left, all they could do was just accept the situation at hand.

The group soon arrived at the docks and luckily for them, they were able to find the sailor that Celica had talked to earlier. It seemed that the sailor had not forgotten their request, and had communicated their offer to the captain.

The captain had no complaints with the conditions that Celica and the others had set. They had enough food for the crew and a bit more, so having a few more people on board, especially if they could help with the ship was a non issue.

"So now that you've arrived, I'll go get my boss and see if he approves as well." said the sailor after recapping on his activities earlier. "I'll be back in a bit and if he does, we'll let you board the ship. Is that acceptable?"

'Yes that would be great, thank you." replied Celica politely.

The sailor then left the group, leaving Celica and the others by themselves along with other sailors of the ship who stared at her group for a moment before getting back to work.

"Looks like everything's going smoothly so far..." said Celica with relief.

"I'd agree lass, but things are going a bit too smoothly no?" questioned Saber, which caught the attention of Celica and her friends.

"And why do you say that Saber?"

"Well for one, the crew members barely vetted us, and they seem fine with letting us on. It makes me think that our foreign friends here are a bit ignorant on Zofia's current situation." stated Saber in return. "Either that, or they're just that cocky to the point where they think they are above worrying over such issues."

"Saber let's not judge our potential partners so soon alright?" responded Celica, annoyed at Saber's negativity.

"I certainly hope so lass. Then again, we'll know soon enough."

* * *

Robin had decidedly held his scepticism towards the Xane's claims, even as the boy led him towards the docks. Though he would have to admit, he was growing more and more unsure as they got closer to the ship.

There was not a hint of hesitation or worry on the Xane's expression. The direction that Xane was leading him to was correct, he had made sure of that. If the boy truly did not hold any connections to the foreign ship and was only leading him on for other reasons, this situation might as well be checkmate. The fact that Xane was acting as calm as he was meant that there had to be some form of merit to his claims.

This would be proven once Xane had done as Robin asked, and led him straight to the entrance of the ship. Though some of the ship's workers immediately confronted them, they bowed to the boy before stepping aside once Xane announced his attentions. It was only arriving onto the ship that Robin could truly how big it really was.

Due to the ship's height, they had to walk up a platform which led directly to the main deck. The ship itself reminded Robin of some of the ones that they had used back in Ylisse, the cannons mounted at the ship's hull, the latter concealing much of the manpower that was needed to fire the cannons themselves.

On the main deck were a few sailors scrubbing the floors of the ship and others managing one of the many ropes. The area itself was rather wide with steps leading to an upper platform towards the front containing one of the masts that seemingly stretched to the skies. This along with the numerous entrances that seemed to lead into below the ship showed just how many people were needed to keep the ship up and running.

"Judging from your impression, it's not your first time seeing a ship like this, now is it Robs?" asked Xane.

"It's an impressive vessel. I've only seen a select few others that can compare to this ship. How long did it take to build this?"

"Would you believe me if I said it took about a year? We already had the designs for the ship on hand which speeded the process up by quite a lot."

"That's...I'm honestly surprised. Could you perhaps tell me some of the methods you used?" responded an astonished Robin.

"It's a trade-secret so no can do. And honestly even if I could, I can't say. Never really bothered with the details after all."

Robin held back his inquiries once Xane had dismissed them, but he knew that ship building was no easy task. When it came down to some of the bigger, militarized vessels like these, it would take at least a year and a half due to the sheer size of the ship and amount of manpower and materials needed for the job. If the ship's design was particularly different it could take even longer. This was by the standards of his time period, which was Robin estimated to be in the hundreds of years ahead.

Though there was little chance of him being able to go back to his original world, the memories and knowledge that he had obtained there were here to stay. Thus, he doubted that he would be able to adjust himself to the achievements and norms of this lost period anytime soon.

"I see...that's a pity then. So where are we going now Xane?" asked Robin.

"Ah we'll be heading to the Stern of course. Gotta let the captain know that I'm letting you onto the ship after all."

Nodding in return, Xane and Robin soon arrived at the captain's office. Judging by the rather casual remarks that Xane and the Captain had shared with each other, it seemed that Xane's points were on point.

"So yea, this here is Robs. He'll probably be joining us on the ship." explained Xane as he conversed with the captain.

"Alright, I suppose it would be best to ask you now." said the captain as he turned his attention to Robin. "Do you intend to travel with us?"

"What...? While I'll admit, that was one of my intentions, I would say Xane is jumping the gun a little bit. But yes, I did intend on asking if I may journey with you and your crewmen."

Robin then explained the deal that he had made with Xane back in the forest followed by his current goal of accompanying Celica and her friends to the location they referred to as Mila's Temple. Following that, Robin then added that Celica and the others had already informed one of the ship's crewmen about their intentions earlier on in the morning.

"Ah...yes! I'm assuming you're one of the people that he spoke to me about. Hm, then the terms that my subordinate spoke to you about should apply. So long as you contribute towards the maintenance of the ship, you're welcome to travel with us."

"I see...then I'll have to offer my most sincere gratitude Captain...?"

"It's Captain Darros to you, but just Captain will do. Since Xane was the one that brought you here, I'm assuming you have his approval?" Xane nodded in return. "Then we're all set. Welcome aboard Robs."

"I'd prefer if you'd call me Robin. Robs was a nickname that Xane came up with after all."

After receiving the Captain's approval, Xane then took the tacitican to one of the quarters that were free. As Robin had intended to travel with Celica and the others, he luckily didn't have to share a room with some of the other crewmates. Following that, Xane explained some of the other duties that Robin and the others would be expected to do.

As they were temporary crewmates for the ship, most likely having little knowledge on some of the more complex manners of the ship, they would start off as Swabbies. The occupation contained a few duties, the most prominent being the cleaning of the ship. As Robin and the others were combat capable, they were exempt from some of the other duties, but would be expected to help with their magic should a fight break out at sea.

Following that, Xane then essentially gave Robin a quick tour of the ship before finally heading back up to the ship's main deck. Since Robin had already opted to travel with the ship's crew, Xane had decided to leave the tactician to his own devices. Where the ship would depart next was still up in the air and so for now, Robin's duties were few.

Understanding that he would most likely be on the ship for a while, Robin quickly took advantage of the opportunity, and opted to more closely explore the ship. There was still some time left as it was still around mid afternoon. If he hurried, he would be able to meet with Celica and the others before dusk.

 _Well might as well have a look around I suppose..._

There were few rooms of particular interest to Robin, thus he opted to just quickly look over whatever areas that would pertain to his duties on the ship first. Finishing that quickly, he then decided to head to the only room that had caught his interest somewhat. Due to the size of the ship, there was the room that contained the ship's archives, a library of sorts, though it would be too small to be considered the latter.

When he opened the door, he found that the room was occupied. Sitting at one of the few tables was an elderly man who seemed to be showing a book to a girl, the latter's face hidden behind the book. While Robin did not understand why these two would be traveling to a location such as this, he held back his words. Appearances often told little of a person's character, and if someone that looked still be in his teens was essentially the second captain of the ship, then there was likely something special about these two as well.

"Ah, good sir, I didn't see you there. Did you need something?"

The elderly man was the first to notice Robin's appearance, and turned his attention away from the girl and towards the tactician. Upon closer inspection, Robin could tell that there was something off about the man. From the man's distinct expression despite his age and eyes that reflected a sort of intuition that was rare even in those that appeared his age.

"My apologies, I'm sort of a new recruit." explained Robin nervously. "Xane had given me permission to explore the ship which is why I'm here. If you two are busy I'll gladly leave you two to your own devices."

"No, it's alright. Thank you for your consideration though. Could I perhaps get your name?" asked the elderly man.

"My name is Robin. If you will permit it, could I get yours?"

"You may call me Bantu. Tiki if you may, could you greet our guest here?" replied Bantu as he got the girl's attention.

"Aww I was in the middle of something good." the girl seemed a bit saddened but soon listened, putting the book down. "I've never seen you before! My name's Tiki!"

When the girl had revealed her face to the part where she greeted him, Robin was stunned. While the clothing she wore was mostly different from when he had known her, the headpiece and hairstyle that she wore were one and the same. The fact that the girl had the same distinct name as his beloved had all but eliminated any doubts that he had.

"Hm...? Mister, your expression is sorta weird. Ban-Ban, does he need help?" asked Tiki as she tugged on Bantu's robes.

So stunned was he that he did not notice the expression freeze into one of shock. That along with the tears that seemed to drip from his eyes were things that he cared nothing about at that moment.

"Robin, is something wrong? Robin?"

Bantu's words snapped Robin out of his shock, and he hastily wiped his face of his tears. He then took a deep breath and calmed himself as best as he could.

"How unsightly of me, my apologies..." muttered the tactician. "I-It's alright...I was just surprised is all..."

"I see...are you sure you're alright?" asked Bantu, concerned. There were few things that could elicit that sort of emotion from a man. That in addition to implications suggested by the shift of emotions occurring right after Tiki introduced herself worried the old manakete.

With Robin's rationale slowly returning to him, he thought about what he could say next. If Tiki was here, then Bantu here was the caretaker that the Tiki he knew spoke fondly about. The old manakete had a kind heart, but at the same time he wasn't naive either. Thus, Robin decided that he would explain his situation as sensibly as he could.

 _I shouldn't have reacted the way I did..._

"Yes I'll be fine... Tiki here just reminded me of someone that I was very close with." explained Robin. "As a result, my emotions got the better of me. I'm sorry for troubling you and young Tiki here."

"I see...that makes sense. This someone you speak of, they must be highly important to you right? asked Bantu.

"Yes...they were. Anyways, once again, I'm sorry for disturbing you two like this. I'll be taking my leave now, hopefully we can talk again some other time."

With that, Robin recomposed himself and left the book room hastily. The composure that he had was temporary, and he knew that if he stayed in there longer, he would no doubt embarrass himself again.

Right as he left, Bantu retained a look of concern, but Tiki felt different. While she was a bit confused before, now she seemed to be caught up in her thoughts.

 _Hm...that mister smelled a bit weird..._

* * *

Hurrying back to the room that was meant for him and the others, Robin closed the door behind him before removing his typical robes and sat on one of the bunker beds that were available. Right now, he would have to rethink his strategy.

 _So Tiki's here huh...I guess Ashunera wasn't kidding after all..._

Musing over the meaning that was behind the cryptic words of that goddess, Robin let out a sigh. The shock from before was wearing off now as his mind and body relaxed themselves gradually. In times like these, the best thing to do would be to lie down and think things over.

Right now, there was a single question that encompassed all the thoughts that he had.

Why was she here?

While the Tiki he knew was sometimes forgetful in regards to her past adventures, there were many events that that she fondly remembered. Among those were the journeys that she had went on along with her caretaker Ban-Ban. While her talks may have seemed boring to some, her vivid descriptions of the past landmarks and traditions that she had seen on those journeys were fascinating to the tactician.

In fact, he had stayed and listened until there was a point when Tiki had literally told him that she had no more travels that she could speak of that would be of interest to the tactician. Considering that the continent he was on was most certainly not the Archanea that Tiki stated was her home, she must have journeyed with Bantu all the way here.

Thus, if Tiki had indeed travelled here all the way from another continent, he was doubtful that she wouldn't speak about it. There was only one other instance that Tiki spoke of which involved a journey like this, but that took place long after Bantu had passed. If this was to be the case, then it was likely that the Tiki he knew did not embark on a journey here.

Regardless, all of this made Robin questioned what he would do now. The woman that he had loved and was looking for was so close yet so far. With Archanea having sent a ship here this early on despite no records indicating such, it was likely that this world had and would progress differently compared to the history of his world.

The possibilities of what could happen next was essentially endless, much to the tactician's frustration. As Robin pondered on this, the fatigue that he had accumulated throughout the day caught up to him, and he slowly found himself drifting into a dreamless sleep.

It wasn't until there was a loud knock on the door did he wake up. Quickly getting out of bed, Robin hurried and clothed himself with his signature robes before opening the door.

"Hey Robs and wow...you don't look so good. You just got out of bed or something?" greeted Darros who was at the door. "Anyways, glad you're up. One of my men told me that your friends from earlier are here."

Hearing the captain speak about his friends, Robin suddenly remembered that he was supposed to meet with Celica and the others. Unfortunately, due to the incident with Tiki, he had forgotten all about that and ended up sleeping here. Robin quickly cursed at himself for his negligence before turning his attention back to the captain.

"I see...and I was supposed to bring them here too...Do you mind if I go greet them? I owe them an apology at the very least."

"Sure thing lad, I was coming to get you for just that. Gotta have you confirm that they are who they claim to be after all. Anyways, I'll be going on ahead, just follow me when you're ready.

With that, Robin and the Captain walked back up to the main deck. They soon approached the ladder that led up to the deck where the sailor from earlier waited for them. Sure enough, the people that the captain mentioned were Celica and the others, only now they had one more additional member.

"Yea that's definitely them. You can let them on." confirmed Robin as he looked down at them nervously.

From what he saw, the expressions that Celica and the others had were a mix of concern and anger. With his and the captain's approval, the sailor allowed them to board the ship, and it was Mae who was the first to speak up.

"Wow Robin what gives? If you were going to meet us here, you could've said something!" complained the girl.

"I'm surprised myself too. You didn't seem like the forgetful type. Anyways though, I'm glad you're here at the very least." sighed Celica.

"Yea I'm sorry, I was meaning to tell you guys but then something came up. After that I kinda just forgot and then fell asleep. If it wasn't for the Captain here, I most likely wouldn't even be here to greet you."

'Well that's that. See what I mean Saber? This is why you shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly." said Celica, much to Saber's displeasure.

"Can't blame me for assuming the worst lass, it's gotten me out of bad situations more than once after all." uttered Saber in return, though a part of him was a bit relieved at the fact.

"Anyways though, since I've arrived early, they've already designated a room for us to stay in. I'll lead you guys there."

With that, Robin led Celica and the others back to the room, though with the amount of people that were currently in the group, another room had to be used. Robin hastily informed everyone on their duties while Saber in return, introduced himself to the tactician. More than anything though, as the day slowly drew towards the evening, the group along with the rest of the ship's crewmen soon had dinner.

After dinner, a few duties had to be performed and following after that, it was finally time to rest. Before they could though, Xane had arrived and asked to borrow Celica for a bit, leaving Mae and Genny together in their room, while Robin and the others conversed in theirs.

* * *

"Hm...you said your name was Xane right? I did not get the chance to do so earlier, so let me thank you for your generosity." said Celica first, as she and Xane walked towards the Captain's room.

"Don't mention it, you guys are going to help us out too after all. Think of it as a trade of sorts if anything." replied Xane.

"I take it that our little walk here has something to do with that?"

"Yep. Gotta talk about it with the Captain too as well, which is why I couldn't just ask you about it with your friends. Just to be clear though, are you what we could call leader of your little group right?" asked Xane in return.

"I wouldn't say I'm a leader or anything like that. We all just have a common goal is all."

"And you're modest about it too. That's fine I suppose, it actually reminds me of the Princy back home. Anyways, I'll ask you more once we arrive I suppose."

A short walk later, and the two arrived at the Stern. After knocking on the door a few times, they were quickly let into the captain's office once Xane had announced himself.

"Ah welcome, welcome! My apologies for calling you out so late uh...wait what was your name again?" said the captain with a nonchalant manner as he greeted the two guests.

"My name's Celica, captain. It's nice to meet you. As I said to Xane here earlier, I would like to offer you my thanks for your generosity. If it weren't for you, we would've been in a pretty tight situation."

"No need to thank me, I'm just doing what's best for our situation. If you insist on expressing your gratitude, I'd like you to answer a few of my concerns as best as you can." replied Darros, now more seriously. "While I would've waited until morning to do this under normal circumstances, what I need to ask is quite important. Anyways, just for confirmation, you are a native to this continent right Celica?"

"Yes I am. Is there anything else you need?"

"That makes things easier then. If you may, can you think of a reason why we Archaneans are here?"

"I...honestly don't know. Right now, while I can't speak for all of Zofia, the majority of us are in dire straits. As a result, if your reason here was to trade, much like those before you, I have little doubt that you would've left our harbor a while ago. The fact that you haven't means your goal lies elsewhere, though beyond that, I'm just speculating."

"A good enough guess as any lass. One of the reasons we came was to establish better connections with the royalty of the kingdoms that exist on this continent. We've heard...unsavory things about what is currently going on, hence why we stopped at your port rather than the main Zofian Port." explained the captain.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid your intentions are impossible at the moment." replied Celica. "Our previous king, Lima IV, he passed only a few days ago. As far as I know, there aren't any surviving family members either. As for Rigel...there isn't much that I can say."

"Hm we already knew that." added Xane. "But you see, I don't really care about the members of royalty or whatnot. What's done is done. What I am concerned about right now though, are your "deities". Would you happen to know anything about them?"

"You're looking for the Earth Mother as well?" asked Celica, now curious.

"If you are, that is also our goal. Other than the threat that Rigel poses, we've also been suffering from droughts and an ever growing threat of terrors. Yet despite this...the Earth Mother hasn't done anything yet. Something like this is unprecedented...thus, me and my friends, we decided to travel to her temple ourselves in order to see what has happened to her. "

Celica's words and zealotry made Xane winced a little but he quickly regained his composure. While the concept of humans worshipping dragons was not a new one, the way that the girl and the other natives that he had met so far regarded the Divine Dragons irked Xane. One of the original things that made him like humans was their persistence, and he suspected that it was likely this that had garnered the late Naga's attention and her later decision to entrust humans with their knowledge back in Archanea.

There was a clear difference between a reverence that focused on respect and self worth, and a reverence that fostered dependence. The former he respected while the latter was something he considered foolish. Of course, assisting humans at times, especially when they were threatened by those that were beyond them was logical, there was a clear line that shouldn't be crossed.

Naga and other Divine Dragons had assisted humans in ancient times through teaching them a variety of subjects. After that, they would stay at the sidelines and watched as humans made use of said knowledge in order to better themselves, opting only to interfere should they face a threat that outclassed them greatly. It seems the Divine Dragons siblings that were sent here, or Mila specifically, decided to go beyond that.

While there were flaws with the way Naga had approached the problem, the result of the alternative methods that Mila had employed reared its ugly head during a time of crisis like this. The people here were dependant on Mila, and without her, they were completely clueless on what to do.

Xane did not know what Duma's approach was, but he had a feeling that it was similarly extreme with its own set of flaws. These issues of course, were disregarding the creeping threat of insanity that Dragons faced, and if the powers that Mila and Duma had apparently used were any indication, he speculated that their minds had already degraded to some extent.

Regardless, all of this was speculation. There was little he could confirm until he saw one of the two siblings for himself and the girl here seemed to be the ticket to do so.

Thus, he would hold off on expressing any of his views, for now anyways.

"Hmm that's all and well, but what do you suggest we do now?" asked Xane inquisitively. "We're at a loss here after all."

"I...I think it would be a good idea to tackle the pirate issue that currently plagues Zofia." replied Celica after a bit of pondering. "I take it that you already had your encounters with them?"

"Yes we did, and there were quite a bunch of them too. Still we managed to get through somehow." replied Xane, omitting some of the details that the girl didn't need to know.

"Unfortunately, many other Zofian ships weren't as lucky as you. As a result, the livelihood of our people have been steadily decreasing. If we were to eliminate the threats these pirates posed, the waters would be safer."

"You have a point. Now tell me, how will that benefit us?"

"Defeating the pirates...that would be an effective and neutral way of earning the support of the Zofians, which is especially important since the royalty that you currently seek are missing." replied Celica after a bit of thinking. "And if we were to meet the Earth Mother at the temple, I am sure that she would reward you for your efforts as well."

"Besides...a ship like yours is big, unlike most of the ones we have here in Zofia. I have no doubt that you'll continue to be a target so long as you travel in these waters. It would be best to deal with the problem now and reap the benefits in doing so."

Celica disliked the fact that she was proposing her ideas in the way she was doing, but the concerns of Xane and the others were a valid one. They were foreigners, and thus, they would normally have no real reason to shed their blood in order to help alleviate the people of Zofia's burdens. She doubted that even with Robin's help, she and the others would be able to take down the pirate forces in their entirety.

The people here however, that was a different story. The fact that had managed to transverse those waters and arrive at the docks while suffering no losses meant that they had some way of effectively dealing with the pirates that had targeted their ship. If she could perhaps garner their support, then eliminating the pirates altogether wouldn't be out of the question.

"Your plan seems sound but these are all just hypothetical scenarios." replied Xane. "Besides, if things are as bad as you say, shouldn't Mil- I mean the Earth Mother be helping you lot out?"

"I'm...I'm not sure why she hasn't done anything about the problem yet, but that's what we're hoping to find out once we reach the temple..."

"Hm...well alright. Helping you lot out seems like it will be better compared to just sitting around here." relented Xane after a bit of thinking. "On the condition that you and your friends will be doing the majority of the fighting."

"That's...reasonable. Will I be able to count on you for support?" asked Celica.

Of course, it would be unreasonable if we didn't help you at all right? My point is, as the pirates are mainly your concern, we expect you to take to the front lines. Besides, I've got a few people on the ship that have just as much of a vendetta against the pirates as you do, and they'll probably be glad to help."

"I see...very well then. Then how will we plan the attack? The locals talked about an individual called Garth who's in charge of the pirates in this area. Will we start by attacking his base of operations or?"

"That is acceptable for now, but we're after an individual that is managing the entire operation. His name is Grieth, have you heard of him?" asked Xane in return.

"No I haven't...Could you explain?"

In response, Xane took out a map of the sea which they had obtained from the pirates that they had captured earlier on. From the map, it showed some of the islands that appeared to be the various bases that the pirates used. In addition, there were also a few other islands that were marked in red. These were most likely some of the areas that the pirates deemed unsafe.

"The person that you spoke about, Garth, he should be in charge of the base here." said Xane as he pointed to the closest island to mainland Novis. "See how his base acts as a buffer for the land that follow after it? Grieth's base should be up ahead. I've heard these two bases are where the majority of their goods and men are placed, if we eliminate them, it should be enough to cripple their operation."

"So now I'll ask you once again. If we are to take on the pirates, then we are expecting to not only take out Garth, but the head of the entire pirate operation, Grieth as well."

"Basically you're saying that we'll have to risk our lives during both of these assaults right? If so, we're ready. These pirates have threatened the people of Novis and Zofia long enough. All I ask is that you lend your support while we do so. Do we have a deal?"

"Hey, the lass's got spunk. She's not half bad eh Xane?" admitted the Captain. Having seen the girl's conviction despite her age, he was impressed.

"Well, they do say that the line is between bravery and recklessness is razor thin. Let's hope it's the former. Luckily for you, we agree with your proposal and will give you our support."

"I see...then that is enough. On behalf of the people of Novis and perhaps Zofia as a whole, I thank you for your support." said Celica in return, and with a handshake between her and Xane under the captain's watch, the deal was set.

"Ah well good thing we got that out of the way lass. Anyways, it is getting late. You should probably get back to your friends to let them know." replied the Captain in return. "As things are now, we'll probably set sail tomorrow."

"Thank you captain, and you as well Xane. Well, I'll be going now."

With that, Celica said her farewells before leaving for her cabin. She opted to tell Mae and Genny and then head straight to bed, afterall, it was going to be a busy day tomorrow.

* * *

While Mae and Genny were worried for Celica's sake, Robin, Boey, and Saber took to their own business within their shared room. Thankfully, the room's size was meant to be occupied by a group of four, so there were no problems.

When Saber and Boey had entered the room, the latter was exhausted, and quickly jumped onto the bed. Meanwhile, Saber had entered and was finally able to get his first clear look at the man that Celica had such a high opinion of.

According to Celica, the man was supposed to be an exceptional mage. Thus, Saber had assumed that he would be of mid to old age with a rather meek physique, much like some of the other capable mages he had seen. When he had saw the boy's ashen hair earlier, he felt that his guess was correct.

Now that he was up close, it seemed that his intuition had failed him twice today. Robin was currently reading a book and wore a plain light yellow shirt of sorts with the tactician robes lying at the side of his bed. Looking at the man, he seemed to still be in his early twenties despite the hair, and while his physique was nothing too exceptional, it wasn't one that Saber would have thought a mage would have.

Looking over at his belongings, there were multiple books of sorts but more importantly, there was also a sword as well. Recognizing the blade as a Levin Sword from it's shape, Saber wondered how he had obtained such a rare sword. More important than the boy's equipment however, were his eyes.

They were eyes that were worn and distant, reminiscent of eyes that have been through a great deal of hardships. At the same time, they held a glint to them, a purpose, that superseded his pains. It seemed that despite Robin's apparent age, he was someone that was far from the initial perceptions that Saber had drawn up.

 _Never thought my intuition would be wrong twice in one day, I wonder if I'm getting a bit old for this..._

"Hey, your name's Robin right? Nice to finally meet you." greeted Saber first, which got the tactican's attention.

"Hm? I don't recognize you. I assume you're someone that Celica got to join her cause?"

"I would say it was more of a business transaction than anything. Name's Saber by the way."

"Ah a sellsword then. Just to be sure, Celica told you where we would be going right?" asked Robin, receiving a nod in return. "I see, well it's nice to have additional help I suppose."

"Wish I could agree, but an easier job for me would be better." admitted Saber. "Anyways, I look forward to working with you. Let's see if you'll live up to what the lass said you're capable of."

"Hopefully."

"Hey I know you guys are getting to know each other and all but could you quiet down please?" interrupted Boey who turned towards the two. "It's been a long day and I need my sleep."

"Well...he is right." laughed Robin. "It is getting a bit late. "I think I'm gonna hit the sack as well."

With a nod from Saber, the room of males soon fell silent.

* * *

The girls' room however, was the opposite as Mae and Genny worried for Celica's sake. They were wide awake and eagerly awaited their friend's return. Luckily, the discussion that Celica had with the Captain and Xane lasted no more than half an hour, and she was back in her room shortly after that.

"Ah Celica, you're back!" Mae was the first to react, and though her expression was of worry at first, that changed once she saw the pleasant expression that Celica held.

"You seem pretty happy, what happened Celica?" asked Genny who noticed the same thing Mae did.

"Yea, it's nice to be back. As for what happened, the Captain of the shipand Xane have agreed to support us for the time being."

"I see! Well knowing you Celica, it sure must have been easy to convince them right?"

"Actually...I don't think I really convinced them or anything like that. When I went to talk with them about the pirates, it turned out that they knew more on the situation than I did. Most likely, they were already intending on facing them, even before we met them."

"Hm...so what you're saying is that they're helping us out of convenience right Celica?" concluded Genny.

"Yea, that's most likely the case. That brings me to my next point. It looks like we'll be attacking two of the pirate bases, and we'll most likely be serving as part of the main attacking force. I'm sure Robin and Saber will be fine with this, but are you two and Boey willing to do this?"

"So we'll be fighting...Honestly Celica, I'm averse to the idea. Still, when I decided to come with you, I already expected that we would have to fight eventually." answered Genny. "Though I may not be a really good fighter, I am good at healing and I should be able to defend myself somewhat...I think."

"Anyways...I'll help however I can Celica. I was the one who asked you if I could come, so I'll put in my best effort, even if it's for scarier situations like this..."

"Wow that was actually pretty cool Genny." said Mae, surprised. "Anyways, you can count on me and Boey. Though he may act like a scaredy cat at times, he should have little trouble with something like pirates. As for me well, it feels weird to actually be using magic on others...regardless though, we'll help you out Celica, you can count on us."

"I...I honestly sound like a broken record at times, but thank you." responded Celica. "With your support, hopefully we'll be able to get through all of this quickly and meet with Mila soon."

With that, the three decided to call it a day and get what little rest they could. Though the candles were blown out and they now rested in darkness exhausted, their eyes were still open.

It was a confirmation of their conviction, something they've done a few times before already. They had already imagined some of the things that they would do, but tonight was particularly tense. Within a few days, they would most likely be facing those that had been a scourge upon the seas, thugs who's very livelihoods were based on murder, pillaging, and rape.

Still, they held onto their convictions as best as they could for if they managed to pull through, they would be able to reach Mila's Temple. Though they had their questions as to why the Earth Mother hadn't helped them as of yet, they nonetheless believed that the answers to such questions would be there.

Though there would likely be many dangers up ahead, Celica and her friends did what little they could to face the situation at the moment, and that was to relax and rest.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **I thought I could get this out earlier, but life had other plans. I'm not amazing at writing certain scenes so my apologies in advance if they sound a bit corny or forced. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and hopefully I'll be back soon.**


End file.
